Therapy
by NavyBlueWings
Summary: After four years, Tsunade has had enough of Sasuke and Naruto's fist fights. Ordering them to go to the best therapist in Konoha seems like a good idea. But what's this...? Dom and Sub? Sleepovers and kiss wars? What did they just sign up for? SasuNaru Le
1. Remedy? Yea Right!

Hello! Well I've finished 'Life is a Highway' and so I'm very sad…but now I'm happy because I have time to write this new idea! So I really hope that you like it. Naruto POV, because he's cute. This is a pretty original idea, in the sense that I've never seen one like it. It's an AU, but I will be writing one that isn't an AU next. It's going to be at least two chapters, I can already tell…-sighs-. I got this idea when I was watching the valley of the end episodes. When Sasuke and Naruto kept going back and forth about their lives, and I was like 'damn, Sasuke and Naruto just need some couple's therapy…hmm…and I know just the man to do it!'. So I hope that you enjoy, thanks for reading this!

**Warning: ****My name is Niki, and I'm a SasuNau lemon addict…-grins- and proud of it! So back off haters! Because this story will eventually have lemons in it!**

**Disclaimer: ****…my cat is staring at me….it knows….he knows!! –falls over- I don't own Naruto…no kitteh don't attack!! –gets attacked- evil kitteh…**

**Remedy? Yea Right!**

"Principal Tsunade is ready to see you now." I looked up to Shizune, the principal's secretary, and grinned despite the pain of a bruise forming over my right eye. Not like the teme looked any better with a cut lip and a bloody nose. I rotated my wrist while I stood, still feeling the effects of the punch I had thrown right before Asuma broke us up. Which sucked, because I had finally gotten on top of Sasuke and made contact with his ugly face. I could hear Sasuke moving behind me quietly, walking into a room that we both knew way too well.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Sit." Well, granny was in a pissy mood as normal. I picked the left chair. It was just out of habit. Also, because that way, I didn't have to see the teme's stupid face. She looked between the two of us in the same crazy look she gave us whenever we found ourselves in this position.

That was about once a week. Since we entered the school as freshman, me and the 'hottest kid in school' had been bitter rivals. Uchiha Sasuke was everything I wasn't. He was a tall, pale, black haired, even blacker eyed, total emo jerk who thought everyone was under him. I was a vertically challenged, tan, blonde haired, blue eyed, awesome happy guy who was friends with anyone that would talk to me. So of course, we were like night and day. He would say something, I'd say something back, we'd fight and it'd somehow end us up here in the principal's office. Even in the middle of our senior year, we couldn't stay away from each other.

It wasn't like she could really call our parents in or anything, since we were both living on our own. Sasuke's parents were killed about five years back, and left him their entire fortune. He was all set for the next forty years. My parents weren't dead, simply missing for seven years. Well, that's what the police told me anyways. And since they were missing and not dead, I didn't have to go to an orphanage or nothing. The house I lived in was owned by my grandfather Jiraiya, and I guess you could consider the pervert my guardian. He took care of the bills and stuff, and got me my job working as a waiter at his restaurant. This was amazing, since 99% of his employees were high school girls with proportions he loved to watch.

And before you think about calling _him _into the school, granny Tsunade put a ban on him ever coming within twenty feet of the school after catching him watching the girls' volleyball team without permission. Him and Tsunade had knew each other since high school, and had always had a weird…'thing' together. Gramps would chase her around and ask her on dates, and Tsunade would pepper spray him or just kick his ass. He continued to try and convince me she loved him.

"What's up granny?" I leaned back in my seat as if I owned it, ignoring the death glare she gave both of us. We were so used to it by now, that it was more welcoming that scary. I'd be afraid if she _didn't _do it when we came in.

"What did I tell you two about fighting?! This is the third one this year."

"So?"

"January started a week ago!" Well, she did have a point there. Lately me and Sasuke had been fighting a lot more than normal. I squirmed a bit in my seat and glanced over to Sasuke, ignoring the slight pain in my eye. He seemed uncaring, which was nothing new for the asshole. Sasuke hardly spoke during these 'meetings', and let me tell the entire story before making changes where he saw fit. That normally caused more fighting and a Saturday school for the both of us.

But the week before was different. Something had…happened during the Christmas break between us. I knew what that was, but I wasn't going to say it if he wasn't going to. So instead, I shrugged and looked back to the principal.

"Something in the water I guess." I could tell she wanted to throw something at me by the way her hand clutched the book on her desk. It wouldn't surprise me. Jiraiya always came home with bruises and bodily harm after pissing Tsunade off.

"What happened this time?"

"Well, Sasuke was being his normal emo self in class while I was trying to have a normal conversation with Kiba. Kiba mentioned something about Sasuke, and I just said that Sasuke was a teme. Well then the idiot went and called me a dobe, because he was eavesdropping on our conversation, and so I fought back and the somehow we ended up wrestling on the floor in-between the desks. I've gotta tell you granny that this fight was a pretty boring one."

"I wasn't eavesdropping. Loudmouth was just screaming his conversation the entire time. Besides, he started the fight when he shoved me out of the desk. I wouldn't waste my time with someone like him unless I had to." See? Look at how he just came out of nowhere and nitpicked at my conversation! He made it seem like _I _was the bad guy.

"I'm not loud you jerk."

"My ears bleed every time you bellow." I growled and fisted my hand, glaring to the stoic guy next to me.

"Yea why don't you say that again and we'll see which one of us screams when I kick your ass!"

"Is that a challenge?" He asked, arching his eyebrow and smirking at the anger I knew was evident in my pose. But hell if I cared, I didn't need to hide my damn feelings like this guy.

"You bet it is!"

"Boys!" Tsunade slammed her hands down on the desk, making me jump and Sasuke glare away. "That is enough. You can't even get through ten minutes without fighting with each other. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to expel you two and you won't be able to graduate."

"What?! You can't do that granny! We're like…four months away!" The last thing I wanted to do was get kicked out of school. But by the serious look in her face, I could tell that Tsunade was completely serious.

"You two are becoming dangerous to the school. We're going to run out of money just fixing all of the things you've ruined."

"Why don't you ask money bags over here to pay for it? I'm sure he can give you the million bucks he uses to fuel his fireplace in the winter." Sasuke scoffed at my comment and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're even more stupid than I thought. Principal Tsunade, you better just save the world some trouble and put him back in the first grade."

"Hey! I may not be a super genius like you, but at least I know how to talk to people without making them cry." Which was pretty much true. Sasuke had a fan-club, but any time the girls tried to come near him, he'd glare or walk away from them as quick as he could. Why any girl would like a jerk like him I'd never get.

"Both of you, stop talking." We both turned our attention back to Tsunade, who sighed and shuffled a file in front of her. "Since I know both of you are not trying to cause trouble, I've decided to try and stop these pointless fights. Starting tomorrow afternoon, you will meet up with up with a therapist. And you will see this therapist every Wednesday until he sees it fit for you to stop coming."

"What?! You think we're crazy?" I asked, staring at her in shock. She shook her head and looked to the file she was reading before.

"A therapist isn't just for people who are insane Naruto. They help people with stressful situations or relationships, and aid them in understanding why they are feeling that way. If you and Sasuke talk to a professional about your fights, maybe he'll understand you better than I do. Because if you don't get through this, you two will be kicked out of school. You got that?" I wanted to say no. To be honest, I didn't want to do a damn thing with the teme outside of school. We hardly ever spoke outside of the classrooms or hallways, and only associated with each other when we happened to cross paths at parties. Like, for instance, Christmas parties…gah, I didn't wanna think about it.

"Fine." I blinked once before glancing to Sasuke, whose glare wasn't on me for once. Instead it was focused on the blond haired granny in front of us, his hands fisted against his crossed arms. "I'll do it."

"Really?" He rolled his eyes and glanced over to me, irritation evident in his gaze. Apparently Uchiha didn't want to do this either.

"Unless you plan on dropping out, this is the only possible answer." He then stood up, brushing his clothes off as if the room had contaminated his perfect body. I snorted and stood up at well, giving a short nod to Tsunade. She seemed to relax at how easy the idea had gone, but recovered as she held out the file to us.

"This is all of the necessary information you two will have to fill out before you meet with your therapist. This man was recommended by almost every professional that I talked to, and I have high expectations of your success. Make sure to follow the directions in the file and be there on time."

"Whatever granny," I muttered, skimming the questionnaire that we had to fill out. It didn't seem so hard, and most of the stuff was about me anyways. I grabbed the stapled packet with my name on it before shoving the file into Sasuke's chest, waiting till he grabbed it to move toward the door. "See ya tomorrow or whatever."

"Hn." Was all he said before I shut the door behind me. I sighed and glanced to the packet again, arching my eyebrow as one of the questions stood out to me. _What is your relationship with the other person in this problem? _I didn't have time to think before someone called out my name. I glanced up and grinned when I saw Kiba and Shikamaru, Kiba waving while he ran toward me. The other simply sauntered lazily to greet me, something that I would only expect from Nara Shikamaru.

"Man! The office? Isn't that like, the third time now?" Kiba laughed when I nodded and started to walk toward my locker. School was over anyways, and I had better things to do than stand outside the principal's office. "So you get another Saturday school?"

"No. Tsunade thinks me and Sasuke have 'issues', so we have to talk to a therapist." Kiba's howl of laughter was annoying, and I tried to ignore it while I tossed my books into my locker.

"No way! Now you're going to be stuck talking about your feelings and shit. Maybe they'll even make you two do a trust fall or something."

"Oh shut up dog-breath." I slammed my locker shut and leaned against it while shoving the papers in my backpack. Shikamaru leaned next to me and glanced up at the ceiling.

"Why do you fight with Sasuke anyways? It's not like you two have to talk." I shrugged my bag onto my shoulder while Shikamaru talked; rolling my eyes at what I thought was an obvious answer.

"Because we always have some stupid classes together."

"Why do you sit next to him then?" I hesitated a bit before shaking my head and moving toward the parking lot.

"Because me and Sasuke are rivals! If I didn't sit next to him, then it'd just be showing him I was scared or something. And nothing, especially Uchiha Sasuke, scares me!"

"You sure seemed scared at the Christmas party." I pushed the doors open quickly at Kiba's statement; glaring back at the grinning guy I called my friend.

"Shut up, that was different." I shoved my hand in my pocket, trying to distract myself by finding my keys while I remembered the weird night Kiba was talking about. Every year the town of Konoha would hold a giant Christmas party in the town hall. The pace was huge, and could fit almost everyone in the town between the three separate floors. Most of the high school kids went just to party, and it hardly took me any time to find Kiba and Shikamaru talking with some of our classmates. My eyes were instantly drawn to the pink haired girl in the middle. Haruno Sakura was extremely cute, smart, and strong. Oh, and did I mention she was obsessed with Sasuke? Because she was, and it made it almost impossible to get her to focus on me without Sasuke coming up in conversation.

But I still remember trying to catch her attention all night. She ignored me like always, and instead drooled with the other girls when Sasuke came in. Of course he had to look fucking _perfect _with his duck-butt hair style and annoying unblemished skin. Really, did they just make this kid out of porcelain or what? I tried to tell Sakura that he was nothing special, and he was a total jerk to anyone who went near him. But she just got all pissed off at me for insulting 'her' Sasuke, which started a huge fight between her and her best from Yamanaka Ino.

Me and the teme didn't speak for most of the night, but somehow his group of select friends and my enormous group of pals merged as one. Mainly because some of his friends like Tenten and Neji were actually pretty cool. Why they bothered with an idiot like Sasuke I'd never know.

"Ah Shika! You and Ino stepped under mistletoe. Now you've got to kiss." Chouji said through a mouthful of food. Man, when wasn't that kid eating? I looked up to what he pointed his drumstick at, and saw the small berry plant that had been doomed to ruin the night. Shikamaru sighed and Ino got excited, because Ino saw it as a way to one up her best friend in the romance department. Sure it wasn't _Sasuke-kun_, but Ino wasn't exactly picky. She just wanted to make Sakura mad rather than actually get with Sasuke. So Ino happily kissed my friend beneath the mistletoe, and I swore that Shikamaru blushed. Not that he would ever admit it to any of us who were watching, merely sighing and calling Ino 'troublesome' once the kiss was over. If he noticed the hurt look on her face he didn't comment, but instead moved his way over to the punch bowl.

And the rest of the night became chaos. Every girl practically killed themselves in order to get Sasuke under the mistletoe. It was pretty funny to see the Uchiha dodge them like they were actual enemies trying to kill him instead of kiss him. Some pretended to slip or hurt themselves under the plant, but would run after him as soon as he passed by without so much as a glance. Others tried to wave him over or get his friends to stand near it again so he would end up moving under it. And of course, I tried to keep Sakura away from Sasuke while positioning myself near the mistletoe. After all, any guy would use this as an opportunity to get their girl!

Now, I'm guessing you all know what happens next. And yea, Sasuke was standing near the plant because of his quiet conversation with Neji. Annnnd yes, I did run toward the same area after seeing Sakura so close to it. But you see, this Uzumaki Naruto was a smart little cookie. I noticed the teme and quickly pivoted, avoiding the dreadful plant and it's prediction of making me and Sasuke kiss. Unfortunately, Sasuke was apparently just as smart because he moved back too, causing our bodies to collide. We hit the floor hard, Sasuke now becoming my body pillow. The impact still knocked the wind out of me. It was enough to make my senses dizzy, and I placed my hands and forehead onto the ground underneath me to keep myself from falling off. Wait, why was the ground under my forehead harder than the floor under my hands? Only when I remembered the floor was made from marble, and floors did not groan, did I open my eyes to meet a slightly pained gaze.

It was strange to feel the teme under me. I mean yea, we fought and wrestled all the time. But normally one of us was squirming or not directly underneath the other. Our mouths were not touching, but our foreheads were. Our eyes locked in what could only be described in matching deer-in-headlights stares. My breath mingled with his, and for a moment I swore I felt…I felt…

The softest brushing of our mouths against each other's from the natural movements of air. A shot of electricity went down my spine and I jolted back from him in panic. We were practically on opposite sides of the room within seconds, my breathing frantic as I tried to organize the thoughts in my head. What the hell just happened?! I couldn't see Sasuke's reaction from here, and I strained to see around the people in front of us to catch a glimpse at his face. But suddenly, I felt a very evil aura from behind me. Slowly looking back, I stared in pure fear as the fangirls seemed to ignite with rage. Not good. The rest of the night I spent hiding in a broom closet of the town hall while Kiba and Chouji tried to think of a way to get me out of there. Finally Shikamaru decided to lend a hand and easily distracted the mob while I made my safe escape from the party.

Ever since then, it had been different. Sure me and Sasuke glared and fought, probably more just to make sure we were still rivals. But it…just wasn't right. Each time I watched his mouth smirk or grimace, it made my mind instantly go back to that moment. And then I found myself somehow starting a fight with him. Yea, so I kind of deliberately made sure Sasuke heard me today. It was only because he had this tendency to rest his pen on his lower lip when he was working, and the whole thing was oddly uncomfortable to me! I mean really what kind of a guy does that? Someone should tell him that's a woman thing to do.

Before I knew it, I was leaning against my truck and glancing between my two best friends.

"This therapy thing is gonna suck. I just hope the guy doesn't make us look at ink blobs and try to see things."

"That's what a psychologist does, Naruto, not a therapist." Shikamaru sighed and begun to cloud gaze, something he did every time gym class was outside. How people considered him smart, I don't know. I shook my head once and glanced to the two while opening the truck door and starting the car to get it warmed up.

"You two wanna come hang out? I don't gotta work tonight or anything." Both guys shook their heads before Kiba spoke.

"We've gotta work on some genealogy project for our psychology class. Have to find out who Ben Franklin's family was or something."

"Yea, and knowing Kiba, this is going to be way more than troublesome." The dog boy glared to Shika while I laughed, enjoying that someone else was getting played the stupid card. I hopped into my truck as they waved goodbye, and I gave up on trying to wait for my old hunk of junk to work. Even if I let it warm up for twenty minutes that thing would still blow out cold air. I ignored it, shivering the entire way back to my house. Luckily it wasn't too far, because you could never tell when my truck would randomly give out. I pushed the door open to the empty house, sighing when I was greeted by silence. Well, I thought it was silent until I heard a faint noise coming from my kitchen. Slowly I walked toward the kitchen and nearly screamed at the sight in front of me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Okay, so I still shouted. But screaming is a more frilly type of girly thing that Uzumaki Naruto would never do.

"Hey short stuff." Jiraiya slurped on the noodles in his mouth while he sat on my counter, two cartons of ramen now lying on the floor. _My _ramen.

"That's my dinner you old man! Can't you just eat at home or something?!"He seemed to paused in thought, half of _my _noodles hanging from his mouth. Then he shook his head and continued to eat.

"It just wouldn't be as good." My eye twitched before I stomped over to the cabinet and started to make my own dinner, mentally thinking of several different ways to end his life. Right now, chocking him with the ramen was the best plan of action. "Think of it this way, blondie. I pay for all of your bills; the least you could do is treat me to some of your ramen."

"You have to pay for my bills, you're my damn guardian! I'm only seventeen; you can't just leave me on my own!" He scratched his chin slowly as if he wasn't barging into his god child's house and eating his food. Like he was some holy sage that I should be bowing down to instead of kicking his perverted ass out. "You idiot…"

"Hey, I'm your elder. You should be happy to see me, especially after the wonderful day you had." I blinked when he leaned back on the counter. I heard the beep of the microwave before I grabbed my food, blowing on it to cool the steaming noodles. Then I turned back to the old man while letting the salty taste of ramen calm my anger. Ramen could probably cure cancer if they tried it.

"How do you know about what happened today?"

"Well, I had a lovely little chat with my good old friend Tsunade."

"You snuck into her office after I left, didn't you?" I asked bluntly, my eyebrow slowly twitching when Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and laughed. "You're going to get arrested one of these days."

"Aw she loves the attention, she's just shy!"

"Or maybe she doesn't like you!" He waved off my answer and tossed the empty ramen cup to the trash, hitting the side of the can. I watched the cup roll to join the other two on the floor, gramps not bothering to pick up his mess.

"So, you and Uchiha Sasuke are still fighting, huh?" I nodded and stirred the ramen in my cup, slightly glaring at the mention of the jerk that got me into this whole mess. "You two haven't settled your differences yet?"

"Not with that bastard! He's got everything going for him, and he doesn't even try. He pisses me off."

"You know Naruto; I think that Tsunade is doing the right thing." He moved from his sitting position, moving over the ruffling my hair. I nearly choked on my noodles from the sudden jerking of my head, coughing to clear my throat and glaring up at him.

"How do you figure that? Granny's just fallen off her rocker." He bopped my head, and it was then I realized that calling his 'love' old was not very smart.

"Tsunade is very beautiful blondie, and you'd do good to remember that. Not only is she a pretty face, but a very intelligent woman. I trust her completely with any decision she makes. Plus, you'd be surprised how similar you and Sasuke truly are. You've just got to get over the fact that the Uchiha is a chick magnet." He made his way to my cabinet while I shook my head and shoved a mouthful of noodles into my mouth.

"Hiss nuffin ike tea," I muttered through my snack, swallowing the tasty food and continuing. "And he never will be!" He shrugged and sent me a smile while pushing some buttons on the microwave.

"Well, maybe you'll be surprised by what the therapist says tomorrow. I heard that he was the best in the entire region. Good luck tomorrow, I need to go back to the restaurant and check on our lovely staff!" He closed the microwave and left me in a quiet thought of who this guy was. Maybe he was just a crook that got away with scamming little old ladies and then leaving the town. Well...Tsunade wasn't exactly little physically, mentally, or vocally. So I guess the guy couldn't do that. Either way, I did—

Wait a second.

"Jiraiya! Get back here with my damn ramen!!" I shouted, bolting out of the kitchen and chasing the stealing old man all the way down the street. Damnit I hate old people!

And the next day was no better. I managed to get up late, which meant no ramen for breakfast. My first class was with Anko, my crazy science teacher who yelled at me every time I leaned my head on my desk. Then at lunch I completely forgot about money, and I had to beg Tsunade to let me borrow some. But by the time she finally gave me two bucks, lunch was over and I couldn't grab anything. The rest of my classes were boring and completely useless, and now I was headed toward some stupid therapist to meet with the teme and some lame dude who conned Tsunade into making us 'express our feelings'. This was going to be hell.

"Dobe." And of course, Sasuke was there early. He was leaning against the building, his hands shoved into his jean pockets and his blue winter jacket looking much warmer than my flimsy orange sweatshirt. I shivered a bit when a cold wind blew by me, and I quickly moved closer to the door of the office.

"What the hell are you doing waiting out here? And here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?"

"Hn." He moved after me, the warm air of the office instantly warming my already flushed cheeks. January was way too cold for my liking. "I wanted to make sure you didn't chicken out."

"Chicken out?! This is Uzumaki Naruto we're talking about! I never back down from anything." I sent him a look and grinned, flexing one of my arms to emphasis the lack of need to run away. I'd just pummel anything that got in my way.

"Idiot." He rolled his eyes and moved to sit in one of the chairs near the desk, his posture perfect as always. I watched him shrug out of his coat and place it neatly behind him, once again proving how different we were. I simply chucked my sweatshirt onto the back of the seat before jumping onto the cushion, completely relaxing. And I was glad I did too, because we stayed in the office for a good thirty minutes without the therapist. Whenever one of us would talk it would start a fight, so I settled for meaningless glaring from my side of the room. He didn't acknowledge me, flipping through the papers he had neatly folded into his pocket. Mine was shoved somewhere in my sweatshirt.

So when the guy finally did get there, I was pissed.

"Where the hell were you? We've been waiting forever!" The guy seemed about twenty five, his hair an odd silvery grey. And by the looks of it, it was completely natural. The strangeness only got worse when you looked at his eyes, his right eye black and his left eye a strange red color. I blinked once to see if I was imagining things, but the red eye, along with a deep looking scar, was very real. He smiled and closed his eyes in a friendly gesture despite my earlier shouting.

"Sorry about that. I was helping a little old lady across the street."

"Across the—you were thirty minutes late! Where the heck was this street, Japan?!" He laughed and petted my head as if I was a dog before moving to sit behind the desk.

"I'm guessing you're Uzumaki Naruto. Principal Tsunade told me that you were the talker of the couple." I blushed a bit at the word, quickly shaking my head. But he didn't let me deny the comment as he continued. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, but please do not use formalities. Kakashi is just fine."

"Like I was gonna anyways," I muttered, moving back to the chair I was in before and scrunching my nose. Was this guy for real? He hardly looked old enough to be out of college, never mind be the talk of the town. He glanced to Sasuke and looked back down at his notes, nodding.

"And you are Uchiha Sasuke. It's nice to see one of you is calm."

"The dobe's never calm," He answered bluntly, making me growl.

"You shut up! What the hell do you know anyways?"

"Apparently a lot more than your empty head." I was so focused on glaring at Sasuke that I didn't notice Kakashi rise from his seat and start to move toward us.

"Oh yea? Prove it, I dare ya."

"You're at the bottom of the class. How you've even gotten this far amazes me with your lack of intelligence."He smirked and I flushed at the truth of his statement. Feeling a bit unsure of what to say next I brushed my nose with the back of my hand to buy some time. Okay, so I wasn't exactly a straight-A student like Sasuke, but so what? Didn't mean he was better than me!

"School smarts don't mean anything."

"They mean everything when you're trying to get a job, idiot."

"You take that back you—" I stopped when I noticed something move behind Sasuke. I blinked once to see Kakashi moving around us, a small notepad in his hand. Man, this guy was kind of distracting when I was trying to fight with Sasuke. "You…teme…hey, you. What are you doing circling us like that?"

"Oh nothing Naruto, simply determining which of you two are the dominant in the relationship." My eyes widened quickly at the statement made casual by the older man, who seemed to analyze my response and record it.

"W-What?! Me and the teme are not in any sort of the relationship! Stop spewing weird shit. You're supposed to help us stop beating the snot out of each other, not 'watch our body movements' or whatever you just said." He sighed once before walking to his desk and leaning against the front of it.

"A relationship is simply a connection between two people. Since you and Sasuke are classmates, then you have a technical relationship. Now in every relationship there is someone who plays the high status, and someone who plays the low status. This shows which person would be more dominate. Your fight shows exactly which one of you holds control over the relationship, and which one is merely the reactor." I scoffed at his explanation and rolled my eyes.

"Sasuke doesn't really count as a reactor. He hardly does anything other than grunt of call me an insult." Kakashi nodded in agreement, and I started to relax a bit at how easy going he was. Alright, so maybe he was little loopy, but you had to be after working with a bunch of messed up people.

"You're completely right Naruto."

"Ha! See that Sasuke, I'm right!" I stuck my tongue out at him, scowling when he only looked at me like I was an idiot.

"If you don't get what he's saying, you're even dumber than I thought." What? I think the confusion was easy to read on my face before Sasuke shifted a bit in his position, placing his elbow on his arm rest so his head could take a break. He was getting lazy like Shikamaru. He turned his attention from me, looking up at the older man and sighing. "You have to be blunt with him. His head it too thick for his own good."

"Now Sasuke, you've made your position very clear. No need to be mean about it." Kakashi turned his attention on me, the cheerful look making an odd shiver go down my back. "You're the reactor Naruto."

"I-I'm….wait…you're saying I'm the submissive one?!" I quickly jerked out of my chair at his nod, shaking my head enough to make myself dizzy. I closed one eye to try and focus, the three Kakashis I saw slowly molding into one. "There's no way I'm submissive compared to him. All he does is sit there and sulk!"

"Your body language is a very important way to tell which one is in control, mainly because it's an unconscious thing you do. Your movements are normally jerky and quick, showing you try to do things without people having time to stop you. When you get angry you flush and shout. Aggression is more of a defense mechanism for a submissive who does not wish to be submissive. When you speak, you have to keep your eyes on him or constantly moving back to him because your body doesn't feel comfortable leaving a vulnerable place like your face or neck open to an attack. You also tend to touch your face and hair a lot when you're out spoken, like the nose brush you continued to do, even now." My finger stopped against the side of my nose as I jerked my hand back and glared up at Kakashi. By now he was already looking to Sasuke.

"Now look at Sasuke. He has one leg crossed over the other, which shows he does not feel he has to be alert in this situation. His hands were placed in a steeple motion during the fight, where the pads of the fingers meet their opposite partner on the other hand. It is a sign of authority and power. His words are slow and calculated. He wants to make sure you understand what he is saying. He has no issue looking away from you, which gives you a direct exposure to his neck; because he knows that there is no threat in doing that. In the few minutes that I've watched you two argue, Sasuke was the one who chose which battles to fight and which to let slide. It's very evident that Sasuke is the one in control of this relationship."

Even though I wanted to hit the guy for even suggesting I was under Sasuke, I was completely taken back by how easily he analyzed our actions. Was I really that easy to read? I glanced to Sasuke automatically to see what his response would be, and then stopped in shock. Was looking for Sasuke's reaction a sign of submission? I squirmed a bit in my seat and turned a heated glare to my lap. Damnit I was not submissive! I wasn't the 'low status' or whatever else Kakashi called me. I was just as good as Sasuke, even better!

"Hn. I already knew that Kakashi. Let's move onto something else." I tensed a bit at how easily Sasuke brushed off the completely new discovery. He _knew _already? That stupid prick!

"Hey hey! Let's just get one thing straight here. I can wipe the floor with Sasuke any time I want to. There is no way that he's stronger than me." Kakashi seemed to glance between us, and it irked me now that I knew his eyes weren't just there to freak me out. Okay, so the whole 'I can read your movements' thing was kind of scary too, but that didn't change a damn thing between me and Sasuke. I still hated him, and he still hated me.

"I never said your strength or power had anything to do with this. Sure, normally the low status is a weaker person, but you two are…different than most cases."

"Different?" I asked slowly, unsure if I wanted to know the answer when he nodded. "How…?" Kakashi didn't answer, turning back to the file he had grabbed from behind him.

"Now it says here that your fighting only happens in school. I'm assuming you two don't try to get to know each other more than necessary, right?" We both must have nodded because that creepy 'I'm happy but really I'm going to screw you over' look came back on his face. "Well then I know just how to fix your situation."

"If you say anything else about this stupid high low crap—"

"I wouldn't dream of it." And once again, he ruffled my hair like I was his pet or something. Damn, was this a part of the submission thing too?! This 'therapy' was starting to make me think I really did need to see a shrink after all the psychological damage Kakashi had done. "I've decided that you two, starting Friday night, will spend three nights over Naruto's house."

"Are you crazy?!"

"No." But despite our obvious complaints, Kakashi continued to speak.

"I have read the case file that the school has collected on both of you. Tsunade had said that despite your first appearances, the two of you have a lot in common. You need to know the people that you 'hate' before we can see why you 'hate' them, don't you think?" I quickly crossed my arms at his reasoning and glared away, trying not to let the feeling of awkwardness move over me. Why did people keep saying we were alike? Everything about me screamed 'amazing' while everything about Sasuke said 'keep me away from sharp objects'. There was nothing alike there at all!

"Why Naruto's house?" I heard Sasuke ask. I went to look at him, but stopped and kept my stare on the wall next to us. Ha, take that Kakashi!

"Because Naruto will feel more comfortable there than at your house. I have a feeling you are able to adjust to new situations better than he is, yes? To new ideas or…feelings." I didn't like the way Kakashi said that, but I kept quiet. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in the creepy Uchiha mansion alone with Sasuke. Who knew what type of torture devices he kept in the basement.

"Do we have to actually _hang out _during the day?" I asked, and Kakashi shrugged.

"Only if you want to."

"I assure you we won't." Apparently Sasuke wasn't as good at being the high status with Kakashi, who smile despite the slight glare Sasuke was giving.

"Well maybe you won't then. I certainly have no control over how you two feel. Only you do." But still, there was something off with that smile of his. I couldn't place my finger on it, but apparently Sasuke didn't like it. Before I even got a chance to struggle, Sasuke grabbed my arm and pulled me from the seat. I barely had time to snatch my sweatshirt while the persistent guy continued toward the door.

"We're done, right?" Sasuke asked, not stopping in his walking. I looked up at the clock to realize that it past the time we needed to stay. How the heck did the time go by so fast? I thought that this was going to take forever!

"I'll see you next Wednesday boys." A slight wave from the therapist was the last thing I saw of the office before the door shut behind us. Sasuke didn't stop pulling me until we had walked down the entire sidewalk, and it was only then I realized the jerk didn't even ask if I wanted to leave. I yanked my arm back quickly, ignoring his glare while I pulled my sweatshirt over my body again. Just because he gave himself time to put his coat on didn't mean the same for me!

"What's your problem? It's not like he called you a damn 'submissive' or anything," I muttered, my hood slightly falling over my eyes while I huffed. He didn't answer for a few seconds while I continued to tug the sweatshirt down my body.

"Look at me when you talk, idiot." Suddenly, the orange shadow was lifted and I looked up to see Sasuke's hand moving the hood out of my way. The slight brushing of his fingers along my forehead reminding me of the first intimate touch we had shared. I remembered his forehead was pretty soft compared to mine. It was kind of strange I remembered what it felt like, but the slight touch just now sparked a warm feeling in my stomach. His eyebrow arched slowly, and it was then I realized I was blushing. Quickly I shoved the hand away, grabbing the hood and shoving it back over my face.

"No!"

"Childish," He scoffed out, and my cheeks darkened even worse under the concealment of my hood. Why the hell would Sasuke be the one to make me blush? I mean yea it was weird thinking of that night, but it's not like we really kissed or nothing! And even if we did, that didn't change the fact he was a complete teme. I hated him, and I would always hate him no matter what Kakashi made us do.

So we stood there in silence, me staring at the ground while Sasuke's gaze bore into my head. I didn't want to admit that we were probably closer than we needed to be, or that it was the first time me and Sasuke had been alone with each other willingly. I should have left. I mean, there wasn't anything left for us to do. Instead, I found fascination in watching the puffs of smoke slip past my chapped lips and into the air. I wondered for a second if it hit Sasuke when I did that. Well if it did, he didn't complain. Why wasn't he complaining anyways? Why wasn't I?

"What time?"

"Huh?" I looked up at Sasuke, now sure that the flushing was from the cold and not from him. He sighed, because I knew he hated to repeat himself.

"Friday. What time should I be at your house?" Oh yea. I would have smacked myself, but I knew Sasuke would find too much amusement in that.

"I have work till eight, so I guess after that," I said slowly, quite impressed with remembering my schedule. He gave one soft nod and turned away from me, shoving his hands into his pockets and starting to walk away. I moved toward my car, but stopped when he spoke.

"See ya then dobe." I turned back to him, stomping my foot on the ground.

"Stop calling me that!" I knew he heard me, but he didn't stop his casual walk over to his car. I glared while he drove off, and I swore I saw a smirk when he went past me. Storming over to my truck, I slammed the door shut and jerked out of the parking lot.

Did I say today was going to be bad? Because now, the next three days were going to be hell.

**Well, there's the first chapter! I hope that you liked it, because now I…I'm kind of not sure how many chapters it's going to be. Haha…well I thought it'd be funny to make Kakashi the therapist since he's the only one that seems to be able to get through to Sasuke at times, and yet still make him mad. Well besides Naru-chan. Not a lot of romance yet, but it'll come eventually. Let me know what you think about it! =)**


	2. Torture, Thy Name is Cinnamon

These plot bunnies are following me everywhere!! I don't know how to stop them! I go out with my friends and then I get tons of idea, and then I come home and have the need to write. I am very nervous to write this, but I'm going to do my best! And I hope it's good because sick right now…buuut anyways! First thank you goes to **Serarafina** for the nice first review! I'm glad you liked the plot, and the bunnies seriously just followed me home one day O.o! But now I kind of have to keep em! Okay, so for other thank yous…oh! Before I do that. I just wanted to let the people know who don't get a thank you, I am VERY thankful for your review, but I try to just do those who have a question or comment that needs answering. So if you want me to answer something or comment back just let me know! Ididn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. Okay, now the thank yous. **Chiaka Megumi **(yeah I like doing AU more too, but I'm working on the non-AU one…may take some time –sweatdrops-)**, XxFirexdance **(aw I don't think I'm the best, but thanks so much for the compliment! And yes, Kakashi is going to be very evil…)**, Akiru Chan **(I'm telling you people, I have no life! But yeah, I've also been sick so…gives me time to write)**, miskie 27 **(I'm so happy someone liked that part! It was my fav part to write…more cute stuff in this one)**, -Nightly Halo- **(You, little lady, have been making my week. You keep sending me nice reviews, thanks for reading so many of my stories!) **, norway22 **(calm down, hot yaio stuff will come very very soon…-pats head-)**, sakurananachan **(alright, the idea I want to use from your comment is going to be in the next chapter, so I'll give you the credit then! =P Thanks again, I owe you)**, Itooshii Koneko **(haha I'm going to try my best to get chapters out)**, cluelessninja65 **(Sasuke's just mysterious, huh? And he gets even worse in this chapter! Haha poor Naru…)**, Kazanari **(Well then you better give me a review! Haha, heres that chapter)**, Lydia-chan **(Well, heres the first yummy night…and I mean that in two ways…-winks-)**, Yenny **(I tend to write a new chapter ever three days, so…keep your eyes open!)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(-huggles- you are the sweetest person ever! And yeah, I'm thinking this may be…like 5 or 6 chapters…)**, Deathangelebz **(I know that feeling, I just have to somehow keep myself focused…so hard though)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(Very spooky…but hot! –smiles- and yeah, I'm thinking this may slowly change from a not-so-oneshot to another real story…)**, zerofangirl **(Yeah I got a lot of freakouts when 'LIAH' was in Complete after chapter four, so I'm keeping this in on-going…haha)**, purrpolisprincess **(Oh don't you worry, it will be…-smiles innocently)**, kat10788 **(You wish for that too?! I'd love to have a Sasuke of my own!!)**, GenocidexFlavoredxLipgloss **(On my, thank you for the sweet review! I'm glad you enjoy my writing, it's people like you I aim to make happy. And yeah, I'll try my damnest to keep up the updates)**, Disgruntled Minion **(haha I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make your life hard! But thank you so much for the review, and I hope this chapter makes you happy!)**, a rather slytherine griffindor **(Well I hate when people make dumb mistakes because they don't research stuff…it bugs me . yeah, even I can get irritated haha!)**, Jenn **(I'm very honored to be one of your favorites! Thank you so much for the sweet review!)**, lilworros **(I'll deff continue this story because I have so many ideas for it, so don't you worry your pretty little head!)**,blue-nuriel **(I'm glad somebody liked him! Haha), **Ashtheroche **(I'm glad that you liked it, I'll try to make Naru not as submissive…)**, sasuxxnaruxxluverxx **(haha I'm glad that I pleased you!) **, Friglit **(Maybe because he _is _going to have some fun with them…-winks winks-)**, Uchichababe-chan **(calm down you, haha, the lemon will come in good time…)**, robin Maxwell **(You really have been so sweet to me all week! Hope this makes you happy)**, Black Jutsu **(haha I'm flattered that you have faith in me! And I'm going to try and make this a very uncommon story, so you better get prepared!)**, and XxXJTDXxX **(Thanks for all the sweet compliments, and yeah I studied a bit of psychology and theatre so the low/high status thing is pretty interesting to me)

Alright, now that that's over…I'm really sorry if there are mistakes or something, because I'm sick…but I tried really hard still, so please enjoy!

**Warning: ****-sighs as plot bunnies continue to jump on me- These things…just wont leave me alone…-twitches- This is a SasuNaru, so be warned…and it's going to be a lemony limey story…I need cages for these things…**

**Disclaimer: ****¡No poseo Naruto! And no, I refuse to say it in English! **

**Torture, thy name is Cinnamon**

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, please come to the office. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to the office. Thank you." I groaned and hit my forehead at the glances I got from the other kids in my class. I heard someone shift next to me, and I didn't bother to watch Sasuke stand when I made my way toward the door. Of course Tsunade had to pick a class that both of us were in before she called our names. I could hear the whispering around us as we left. I guess I couldn't blame them. We hadn't fought, or actually talked, in class since Tuesday. So being called down to the office three days after the fight, when we had already been to the office, was probably going to start up some weird talk.

"Aw man, what does granny want with us now? We went to the damn therapist." I waited until we were out of the classroom to talk, Sasuke easily falling in step with me.

"Who knows, dobe." I stumbled in my walking and glared over at him.

"Stop calling me that you jerk! I am not a dobe!" He didn't answer when we stopped in front of the office, pushing the door open to see Shizune looking up to us in a warm greeting.

"Good morning boys." I waved to her and grinned while the jerk only nodded in acknowledgement. "Tsunade said you may go in as soon as you get here."

"Thanks!" I didn't bother knocking on Tsunade's door when I pushed it open. Granny was in the same old chair with a stack of papers on her desk, and the mischievous side was tempted to see how red her face would get if I knocked them over. But since I didn't need Sasuke to have something else to insult me about, I squashed my inner Naruto and sat in my chair on the left. "You rang granny?"

"Stop calling me that, brat."

"Stop calling me brat, granny!" She sighed and picked up two folders, and I instantly became curious when one said my name. "Oh hey! What are those?"

"You've got the attention span of a goldfish." I didn't bother glaring at Sasuke, my attention continuing to follow the movements of my folder.

"These were sent over by your therapist Kakashi. They are assignments that you have to complete before you visit him again on Wednesday." Alright, that just made some of the excitement die off. But I should have known there was more to come when she didn't hand us our files yet. "Inside there is a fact questionnaire, a personality questionnaire, and then a quiz that Kakashi calls 'getting to know your unconscious self'. All three of these exercises have to be done, you got that?"

"Uh, okay…but what's the point of the last one if we're doing a fact and personality quiz thing? Won't that just answer the third quiz?" Tsunade seemed to find some type of humor in my statement, because she smiled in a way that I knew wasn't good for my own sanity.

"Well that's because the first two aren't for yourselves. You have to question each other. That's the point of this therapy you know." I blinked once at her answer before shaking my head, making an 'x' with my arms to show my protest.

"No way. I'm not doing it. I don't want the teme to know all my personal shit! It's bad enough the pervert knows where I live. By the end of this whole therapy, there's going to be a ramen party at my house without me even knowing it!" Both of them stared at me weirdly, but I was too distracted with the horrible images of Sasuke and gramps sucking down all my precious ramen.

"Hn. Like I'd want to eat that disgusting stuff anyways." My eye twitched as I slowly turned my head toward the one idiot who would dare defile the name of god's food.

"What…did you just…call it?"

"Disgusting. It's got no nutritional value, not to mention its sodium levels are outstanding." Alright, that made two people I needed to choke with heaven's noodles.

"You take that back you horrible demon!" He leaned back a bit in his chair, seeming to ignore my demand of an apology to focus on the folder Tsunade was holding out. It bothered me a bit that he got the one with my name, like we were partners or something. I glanced at the folder with his name on it, slowly taking it from the principle and flipping through the papers we needed to fill out. Damnit, why was Kakashi so focused on us knowing about each other? Why couldn't he just get to the part where he told Sasuke to stop being an emotionally constipated jerk and just accept the fact I was better than him? As soon as he did that, I'm sure all of our problems would go away.

"Now you two better finish those, or else I will be notified. You understand?" We both nodded at granny, but I had to bite my lip to keep from making a comment. It was bad enough I had to let the teme sleep at my house for three days and interview him. I didn't want to add a Saturday school into the mix. "Good, then you may leave. Oh, and try not to kill each other this weekend. I don't want to deal with the paperwork."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." I pushed out of my chair while shoving the folder under my arm, no longer wanting to have to look at it. This entire thing was pointless. If anything, knowing about how great the jerk had it at home was going to make me hate him more. I waved goodbye to Shizune as I moved into the deserted hall. Third period still had about ten minutes left of class. I sighed and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. This whole week was turning into a bad horror movie.

"Stop slacking off and get to class." I didn't bother to open my eyes when Sasuke tried to order me around. That's because Mr. hard-ass didn't know how to do anything except follow the rules. The only times he ever acted out was with me, but other than that he was a stickler to the law. It was probably why he was so much more accepting of this stupid therapy thing. Because it was ordered by someone above him.

"I'll get there when I get there," I mumbled, trying to shoo him away with a flick of my hand. He sighed as if irritated with the situation. Anything concerning me apparently bothered him.

"If I go and you don't, you'll get written up."

"So what? I've been written up before. Granny loves seeing my face."

"Nobody loves seeing you." I winced a bit at the statement, but I kept my eyes closed. Instead, I clenched my hands against my waist to keep from showing him that anything he said affected me.

"Shut up, you don't know a damn thing. Acting all high and mighty, like someone appointed you to babysit me. Nobody asked you to monitor my actions and make sure I was kept in line. Just because you're older doesn't mean I have to listen to you anyways. So why don't you just go back to class and mope like you do every fucking day of your life." Finally I did open my eyes, but it was only because I felt something warm brushing my cheeks. I stared up at narrowed obsidian twins, which were much closer than ever before. I tried to back up from the space invasion, but the wall behind me gave me no place to go. So instead, I glared back at him to try and get him to step back. He didn't.

"I don't mope." When did his hands get on the wall? Feeling instantly defensive, I pulled one of my fists up over my chest as a warning. I think he caught my bluff by the way my hand trembled a bit.

"You…you sit there in silence and don't let anyone near you. Yeah, I call that moping." Finally I had remembered that indeed, my voice was working.

"I just don't waste my time talking to idiots," He answered, and I could already feel my mouth opening to reply.

"My friends are not idiots! Hell, Shikamaru is smarter than you are anyways! He just doesn't try in school. And sure Kiba can be dumb at times, but he's a funny kid and he doesn't judge me. He can be a good listener if he has to, I would know. Just because we don't sit there and think about how pathetic our lives are doesn't mean we're completely stupid. That's why we're friends. So that we can help each other with shit like that. I've seen you talk to Neji and Tenten, who are also _my _friends. And you know Neji is pretty damn smart! If you just…arg…stopped swimming in your own emo pool, maybe you'd see my friends are pretty friggen awesome!"

He didn't answer me. We stared each other down, not moving an inch away from each other. I'd find out later (when I-yes, Uzumaki Naruto- did some research on high and low status) that we were playing out parts a little too well for my own comfort. Sasuke's arms were around me, making his body seem bigger. Apparently, that meant something like he had power over the conversation. Me, on the other hand, couldn't seem to sit still. I continued to try and press back into the wall, away from him. His head was tilted down toward mine, which wasn't fair because he was taller than me anyways. I guess that showed he saw me as lower than him. I glared up at him to try and assert myself, but it didn't seem to bother him in the least bit. Eye connection is a big thing for higher status when trying to show their place. So I guess it made sense he waited until I finally looked away before moving from his spot and walking down the hallway.

"Be late. I don't care about you." And with that, Sasuke disappeared from the hallway. I felt myself relax against the spot on the wall, glancing down the floor in front of me. The hand that had been used to keep him away from me was now resting over my heart, my face scrunched up in anger. To be honest, I was more upset than angry, but not understanding my own feelings pissed me off. Why did I ever listen to that jerk? Of course he didn't care about me, we were rivals! That would be completely pointless if he wanted me to be okay, because then we wouldn't be enemies but...

Friends. I felt another twinge in my stomach at that. We weren't friends. It made no sense, since we were so different. I didn't even know why I was thinking about it, when it was clear that both of us had agreed on not becoming close. Even if he was following orders, he was not making it any easier to deal with him. I nodded once and walked toward my next class while the bell rang; making the conclusion that Sasuke did not see us as friends. And neither did I!

…Right? Ah, Kakashi was getting to me. Of course I didn't want to become friends with Sasuke. I spent the rest of the school day trying to remind myself of every reason why Sasuke and I weren't friends. The convincing carried on through work, reminding myself in-between orders and cleaning tables. But eventually, I decided I needed a little more backing up than my own confused head.

"Hey Ino?" The blonde haired girl looked up at me and blinked, pausing in the middle of making a fudge sundae. I laughed a bit when I realized some of the chocolate had been smeared on her cheek, which must have occurred when she wiped the back of her glove onto her face. "Well first off, you make a pretty yummy looking Ino-sundae."

"Huh?" quickly she looked to the scoop she was using, staring at her reflection and sighing. She grabbed a towel and started to wipe the smudge off her face before continuing to work on her ice cream creation. "So what's up Naruto? Which 'S' is bothering you this time?"

"A new 'S' actually." It was funny, because somehow Ino had created our own 'S subject' system. We didn't really notice it at first, but slowly we both came to the realization that most of our problems started with 'S'. Sakura was normally the one I talked about with Ino, since they were best friends. In return, she spoke about Shikamaru. But school, my salary, her shoes, my shortness, her size (bust, waist, stomach, ect), and our sucky schedules during the winter had all been grouped into the 'S Subjects'. It was pretty humorous when we spoke, because most people at work had no idea what we were saying.

"A new one? I thought we ran out of subjects." She leaned on the counter, waiting for one of the shakes she was making to finish stirring. I shrugged and grabbed a tray of food that I was waiting on.

"Sasuke's the new 'S'."

"You wanna talk about Sasuke? The 'guy that you have hated since you first met him'? And why on earth would you want to talk about him?" She finally filled her tray with the deserts she had made, and held up a finger to me to signal a pause on our conversation while she left the kitchen. I followed with my food, and we didn't get to pick up our talk until almost a half hour later. But we had been working together for two years now, and we had grown to adapt to the talks between tables.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk about! Did you know Tsunade's making us go to a therapist?" I asked, counting the money left on the table. I grinned at the seven dollar tip I got, but I expected it'd be good when I heard the two girls giggling while I walked away. Sometimes being hot with a tight ass was such a bonus in this place. Ino finished cleaning her table, glancing around the now quiet area we were in and sitting down in the booth.

"Well yeah, it's the talk of the school." I groaned and smacked my head before sitting across from her. It wasn't like Jiraiya could complain; both of our shifts were over in five minutes anyways. And I couldn't stay late no matter how much he begged.

"How does the school know?"

"Because one of his fangirls heard him talking about it with Neji, and she practically broadcasted it on their website."

"They have a _website_ for Sasuke?" She nodded, and I tried not to bang my head against the table. If I found out Sakura was a member of that stupid club, I was going to just hurl myself over a cliff and stop the torture. "Do these girls have no lives?"

"Apparently not. But I'm guessing that's not what's bothering you today, huh?" She asked, leaning on her hand while she sighed. "So spit it out already, I've got a date with Sai tonight."

"Sai? Who's that? Should I know him?" I thought she was crushing on Shikamaru. A lot.

"Nobody that you need to worry about. I don't like him really. But hopefully it'll get Shikamaru jealous and he'll finally ask me on a date!" Ino said, winking to me. I laughed at my friend's plan to deceive my other, much more lazy, friend. I doubted it would really work, but Shikamaru could get jealous at the most random of times. You had to give the girl credit for trying.

"Well I guess I'll hear about it from Shikamaru when I get to science class on Monday. Well, if I live through the weekend that is."

"Oh yeah, Sasuke's sleeping at your house, right?" Damn these girls knew way too much for my own comfort. "I'm guessing that you're not happy about this?"

"Not at all! Well, I don't think I am…gah! This is what I mean Ino. Before I went to that dumb therapist, I knew exactly how I felt about Sasuke. He was a total jerk who I hated and had nothing in common with. Then the therapist tells me that he has to spend time with me and ask me personal questions, and I thought I was really mad about it. I mean, I don't want the jerk to have more stuff to hang over my head. It's bad enough I was called submissive—"

"Submissive? That sounds kind of…sexual. How the heck did the fangirls miss that one?" I blushed at her smirk and shook my head quickly.

"You should know better than anyone that I like girls. Mainly your best friend." She scrunched her nose at that. It wasn't that Ino hated the thought of me and Sakura together, but…well okay, so it was exactly that. Ino never thought that Sakura was the type of girl for me because our personalities were too much alike. One of her 'pieces of evidence' was the idea of our zodiac signs. Because I was a Libra and Sakura an Aries, we were one of the worst pairs in the whole bunch. I didn't really get her reasoning since her and Shikamaru's signs weren't _that _perfect together, but she brushed me off whenever I tried to use her logic against her. Girls are weird like that.

"You really need to get over Sakura. She's pretty, intelligent, and not looking for a guy like you." I knew she did it because she didn't want me to get my hopes up, but still a slight pain tugged in my heart. I had liked Sakura fore_ver_, and she honestly didn't have the same feelings for me. It was probably one of the first reasons that I started to hate Sasuke.

"Yeah yeah, let's just stop talking about it. What I was going to tell you was that Sasuke and me have to do these dumb tests at my house and I…"I paused, staring at the table. "I didn't want to; because I thought I hated him. But I…we…Ino, what do you consider a friend?"

"Have I ever told you that your train of thought is completely irrational?" She laughed when I growled, attempting to sound like I wasn't embarrassed that I already knew that. "There isn't really a definition of a friend Naruto. You are either friends with someone or you're not. There's tons of quotes about it and stuff, but it's really whatever you want it to be. Why?"

"I don't know if Sasuke's my friend or not." She blinked in surprise at my confession. Then, a slow smile curled her lips while she reached out, grabbing my hand with hers.

"Well that's an easy one! Of course you and Sasuke are friends!"

"What?! How on earth is that easy?" She sighed like I was asking her to explain why the sky was blue.

"Well, you two have known each other for a very long time now, and neither one of you is dead or severely injured. Sure you fight a lot, but it's the same for me and Sakura. Still, I know that if she got hurt or ever really needed my help, I'd be there for her. I don't really want to see anything bad happen to her, and I have a feeling if Sasuke was in trouble, you'd make sure that he turned out alright." I stared at her while she nodded to reinforce her point. "You and Sasuke are friends, you two just don't like to admit it because you're stubborn."

It felt strange hearing Ino talk about Sasuke getting hurt. He was one of the strongest kids I knew, despite his weak appearance. We were pretty evenly matched when we fought, which was why both of us always ended up with bruises and cuts. But, what if someone else was fighting Sasuke? If someone had an issue with him and wanted to actually hurt him, what would I do? Not scuffle and bruise like we did, but break bones or actually…

I found out quickly that I didn't like that idea. So driving home after saying my goodbyes to Ino and the others, I finally admitted the truth. Maybe I didn't hate Sasuke as much as I wanted to believe. He did have _some _good qualities after all. He was considered a genius by school standards. And I guess that he had to have some type of personality if Tenten was able to deal with him. She was kind of like me in the sense that she wasn't able to just sit still and listen to boring conversations without quickly losing interest. So the fact that she could stay attentive during a talk between Neji and Sasuke proved that there was some type of person inside of that jerk. He, apparently, just didn't waste the effort in showing that to me.

I blinked when I pulled into my driveway, a black mustang sitting in the normally empty spot. It took a moment to realize that it was Sasuke's car, said driver leaning silently against the door. I moved around my car and scoffed, instantly starting to shiver from the crisp night air. Sasuke, however, seemed perfectly fine. I swear this kid has ice for blood.

"You're late." I pulled my cell phone from my pocket to check the time before huffing and looking up at him.

"Yeah, by like ten minutes! Don't get you panties in a bunch about it." He glared and I ignored him, slowly walking around his car and whistling. "This thing is pretty nice. Should have known someone like you would drive a black car."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do I need to explain your anti-social force field?" I skimmed my fingers along the side of the car in amazement. Give me a break here, the closest I had ever gotten to one of these was in the magazines at the supermarket!

"And judging by your…vehicle, I'd say you were a crappy piece of worthless junk that had seen better days." He kicked my wheel gently, and we both blinked when my car made a funny noise. "_Much _better."

"Hey, just because I don't have money spewing out of my ass—"

"I did not need that image, dobe." He slung his bag over his shoulder and looked up at my house, his lips thinning with stoicism. "So this is your house."

"Yup yup! Ain't it sweet? I've got the entire place to myself and everything."

"Hn." He moved forward to the steps, continuing to scan my house as if he expected the porch to swallow him whole. "I'm surprised you haven't burned it down yet."

"I'll have you know I'm a fantastic cook! I'm the one who made up half the crap on Jiraiya's menu thank you very much."

"Never been there, and now I'm even less tempted to do." This was going to be a long night. I moved past him to unlock the door, shoving it open and turning on the living room light. I was pretty proud of how clean I was able to make it look with only a couple hours of work, since the house had been a pig sty before. But hey, there jerk was lucky I even bothered to clean for him.

"You like?"

"It's adequate."

"I'll show you adequate…" I muttered, which I could tell he heard from the roll of the eyes he gave me. Deciding it wasn't the brightest idea to start fighting with him so soon, I changed the subject. "You hungry? I'll make some grub."

"Hn." But I assumed that was a yes when his abdomen growled. I laughed at how funny he looked glaring down at his stomach.

"My room's upstairs on the right if you wanna throw your stuff in there and get changed. I'll make some dinner and we start this stupid questionnaire thing." I pulled the folder I had gotten from Tsunade out of my backpack, listening to him walk up the stairs before heading to the kitchen. I tossed the file to the counter before glancing around the kitchen. What the hell did the teme like to eat anyways? Well, I knew he liked healthy crap. I moved to my fridge and glanced at the fruit and vegetable drawer that all fridges came with. Well, there wasn't too much, but Jiraiya always made me keep some fresh 'healthy food' because he thought Ramen stunted my growth. Hell, I'd be a dwarf as long as I got to eat ramen while I did it.

I tossed various vegetables onto the island in the middle of my kitchen, glancing to the shelf and smiling at the Tupperware bowl filled with a sauce I had made earlier in the week. It was strange how Konoha's ramen lover was completely fascinated with making different foods. I didn't know really where I got it from, since Jiraiya was a fast food addict. Even though he ran his own restaurant, he didn't like to cook. I often found myself subbing in or messing around in the back room, finding random things that actually tasted pretty good together. I made his crappy restaurant become one of the best in the town, but the pervert would never give me the credit for it. He just decided he grew more handsome with age and it brought the women in. Yeah right.

I decided to make a simple spaghetti dinner, throwing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce together to make up a bowl of salad. I had just started to drain the spaghetti when Sasuke moved into the kitchen, sniffing the air and seeming slightly amused by what greeted him.

"So the dobe can cook."

"Told ya you knew nothing about me!" I grinned and shook the spaghetti before throwing it back into the pot I had cooked it in. I glanced over my shoulder to see Sasuke staring at me. The idiot was leaning against the island in a black t-shirt and blue sleep pants, and I was slightly surprised to see him in such casual clothes. Normally the Uchiha wore nice, matching attire. But it almost was refreshing to see that he was a normal teenage guy when he wasn't in the spotlight.

"You still there?" I blinked once before my eyes widened at the smirk he gave me. Crap, was I staring?! I quickly jerked my head back to face the stove after our eyes made contact, giving me the answer I needed. I mentally cursed myself when I felt the slight tingling of my cheeks signaling I was blushing. What the heck was wrong with me lately? Who cares what he wore to bed? Well…besides those freaky fangirls.

"Didn't know you could be normal is all…" I mumbled weakly, trying to distract myself by moving to the container of homemade sauce and opening it. "You want your spaghetti with sauce or what?"

"What else would I have it with?"

"How about with a foot up your ass?"

"You're so intimidating." His less-than-scared tone was obvious, and I turned to face him with a growl.

"What the hell is your problem? I let you into my house, I cook for you, and you're _still _a compete asshole! Can't you just lighten up for one in your emo life?"

"Says the one who has been against this from day one."

"So weren't you!"

"Hn." We exchanged glares for a few seconds before I crossed my arms, leaning back a bit against the counter.

"Just sit down and shut up so we can get this over with. You can leave in the morning." He moved to the table as I finished preparing the dinner, biting my lip when my back was turned to him. Even if I wasn't looking at him, I could practically feel his gaze following me. What the hell was up with that? I tried to ignore it while I stirred the sauce in, but even so I felt my cheeks darken a bit. Maybe the teme was used to the attention, but I sure as hell wasn't.

"Who taught you to cook?" I paused at his question, glancing slightly to my side. I didn't turn my head enough for him to catch my blush, but I could faintly see him from the corner of my eye.

"Not that it's your business, but I did it on my own."

"They let you near a stove without supervision?"

"It wasn't like that." I shuffled through my plates that had been left by my parents. It was strange to actually use them. Most of the time I cooked I would eat what I wanted from the pot or pan, and then shove the rest into Tupperware bowls. I never cooked for other people because…well, I wasn't sure why. Normally when Kiba or Shikamaru came over we just ate ramen or ordered food. I never really thought to offer to anybody else. I shook my head and started to pull out the rest of the dinnerware we'd need. "A lot of the time I was with Jiraiya when I did play around with food. But he didn't teach me. I just looked through cookbooks and mixed things together that I thought would taste good."

"You don't take culinary classes at school." I shrugged before bringing the two plates over to the table. You'd think I poisoned the food by the way he looked at it. Moving back to the island, I grabbed the two small salads and my own made dressing.

"Nope." He arched and eyebrow at my simple answer while I sat down in the seat across from him.

"Why not?"

"Someone's nosy."

"I'm following the therapist's orders in getting to know you, dobe." Because the world would fall apart if Sasuke didn't follow the rules. I sighed loudly and started to twist my spaghetti around my fork.

"Well since you're desperate to know, I don't like following other people's recipes. Culinary shows people how to do it the way their teacher does it. I make my own shit up, like the sauce and dressing. You won't find it in any recipe book."

"You base it off something."

"But it turns out different in the end." I watched his fingers grab the fork and flip it upside down. What the heck was he doing? Fluently, Sasuke was able to wind the noodles around his fork even when it was facing the other way.

"How do you do that?"

"My parents taught me when I was younger. It's the European way of using a fork."

"Isn't it hard?" He shrugged while slowly lifting the fork away from the rest of the food, each noodle seeming perfectly tucked against his utensil. He stared at the food while holding it in front of him, and quickly I lost patience. "This is where you place the food into your mouth."

"Your intelligence amazes me." Still I watched in silence as he swallowed the food. I mean, it was the first time I had been with a person when they first tried something I made. It was pretty nerve-wrecking, especially when it was someone like Sasuke. I blinked once when his eyes widened and immediately feared the worse. He hated it.

"W-What? Is it bad?" Quickly his eyes returned to normal and his gaze met mine, but I could still seem some remnants of surprise.

"It's not what I expected."

"What's that supposed to mean? Is it too spicy or something?" Well I did use herbs in it. Maybe it was too much? I took another sloppy bite of my food and furrowed my eyebrows. Nope, it was the same as always. What the heck was wrong with it? I looked up to ask him, but I stopped when Sasuke's gaze wasn't on me. Instead, it focused on taking more of my creation onto his fork. "Sasuke?"

"It's not awful." I should have felt insulted, to be honest. I had worked my ass off to get something a little better than 'not awful' from my first taste tester. But instead, I felt…content. Proud even. Because despite what Sasuke said, he ate the whole thing. I got another surprised look and off-handed statement when he tasted the dressing with the salad. I grinned despite how lame his review was, because I could tell by the way he ate that it was better than he wanted to admit. Sasuke liked my food!

The warmth in my stomach felt too good to ignore.

"Alright teme, how are we going to do this?" The two of us now sat on my bed, our knees almost touching while we faced each other. The clock now read 10, but I was wide awake from the awkward situation. My pen was resting behind my ear as I gazed slowly over the first part of the folder; the fact questionnaire.

"Well I suggest we ask each other questions." Apparently when Uchihas were fed good food and giving a place to stay by nice people, they got even more sarcastic and cocky.

"Thanks captain obvious. Now that you've cleared up _nothing_, I'm sure this will go a lot better." And then said nice people become just as sarcastic. He sighed and slid his pale fingers through his hair.

"Go down the list in an alternating pattern. That way we'll be sure not to miss anything, and we'll both be exposing ourselves to the other."

"You make it seem like we're stripping or something." He sent me a glare and I held up my hands in peace. "Kidding kidding...damn, take that icicle out of your ass before you get frostbite."

"I'll start." Aw, he didn't find me funny. Oh well, I sure got a good laugh out of it. "I'm skipping past your name and age because they're pointless."

"Fine, you're the boss." I said, rolling my eyes. I saw a slight smirk rise to his lips as he leaned a bit closer, pure arrogance in his features.

"I believe the therapist called it the 'dominant' person." Against my will, I felt my eyes widen. But how could I stop them? His stupid eyes were half lidded and looked almost daring, making my stomach flip at a challenge that wasn't truly there. The smirk he wore was positively conceited. His elbows rested so casually on his knees while he leaned forward, his fingertips brushing against the fabric of my orange sleep pants. He was like a flame waiting for a moth. Even a guy like me could understand now why so many girls liked him. If he kept giving them looks like this, it was a miracle they didn't just randomly strip and jump him! Not to mention the reminder of 'roles' brought back Ino's words about sexuality. Damn her. It was her fault. No guy would have been able to stop himself from blushing in that situation! Apparently Sasuke didn't expect that particular reaction, because he arched an eyebrow and lost some of his haughtiness. His eyes opened completely again, and a look of slight annoyance was evident. "What's your issue, dobe?"

"S-Shut up and read the damn survey!" I snapped out, shoving him back and glaring down at my papers. It made it worse knowing he didn't even realize what he was doing.

"Fine, idiot. Height."

"Course you pick that one."

"It's the third one down."

"Whatever. I'm…five feet, six inches."

"Five feet, eight inches."

"What?! No way! You are not two inches taller than me." I think I just didn't _want _him to be two inches taller than me, when in reality I knew he was. He ignored my outburst and continued down the list.

"Weight."

"What are we girls? I don't give a damn about your weight."

"Do you enjoy annoying people?"

"Only when it's you, teme." He pressed his lips tightly together before moving to the next question. Even though we continued to talk and argue, we managed to make it through ninety percent of the questionnaire. It wasn't until question twenty seven that things changed.

"Come on teme, what's the next one?" Even with my insult Sasuke didn't speak, and I scoffed before looking on my own sheet. The thing was a complete wreck, with scribbles and 'temes' written all over the paper. I skimmed the questions, not bothering to read ahead of myself as I spoke. "Question twenty seven, how have your parents..." I stopped myself there, my eyes closing halfway while I continued to read the question in my head. _How have your parents affected who you are today? _

It was strange, I finally decided. Not because of what happened to me, but the fact that Sasuke had also lost his parents. I guess even though the information was always known, I never really thought about how close it was to my own life. Maybe because Sasuke ended up rich and completely taken care of while I got shipped off to my grandfather who wasn't sure how to raise a child in this new age. I felt like everything was handed to Sasuke because he could pay for it or not worry about it, while I only got the money that I earned from working or doing chores. He had been pitied by the town because his parents were killed. I was just given looks and people whispered behind my back about being 'abandoned' whenever I would walk down the streets. It had been another stupid reason why I hated Sasuke.

"Uh…we don't have to do this one. I mean, we were both kind of young. It's kind of…pointless," I said slowly. Sasuke lifted his head to glance over to me, an unreadable look etched into his eyes.

"That's stupid." I bristled at the reply.

"What are you talking about? I'm just trying to be nice you jerk." He scoffed and leaned back on his arms. His eyes, still wavering in that unknown look, casually looked up to the ceiling. Like we weren't talking about our dead parents. Like it didn't hurt to think of them, to miss them.

"Tell me something, dobe. Do you think you'd be who you are now if you didn't go through what you did?" I wanted to reply with a yes, but I felt myself hesitating. He continued. "Our relationships and memories shape who we are. Our personalities are not accidents; they are consequences from what we have been given."

"You're wrong." He finally looked over to me, and for once I didn't glare or scoff. I simply returned his gaze with my own. "I chose to become the way I am. Me and you went through the same thing. We both lost our parents. You chose to be who you are, and I chose to be who I am. We're completely different people. I don't know about you or anybody else in this world, but I don't let my memories choose who I become. I am Uzumaki Naruto because I wanted to be Uzumaki Naruto. And nobody is going to tell me otherwise."

"Hn." He shut the folder in his lap before lying back on the bed. He stared back up at the ceiling as if looking for a response. Apparently he didn't find one, because he resorted to one of his own. "Idiot."

"Hey! You can't pack up yet, we still have two questions." I looked to the next one, determined to get the first part of this test out of the way. The last thing I needed to be doing was chasing Sasuke around the school on Wednesday before the therapy session. "Uh, question twenty eight, do you have any siblings? Oh, well I guess you lucked out, because I don't have any."

"One." I jerked my head up from the paper to look at him, his eyes suddenly narrowed much fiercer than before. "I have a brother."

"Really? When did that happen? And how come I never see him around here? Is he older or younger?" The fact that Sasuke had a sibling was pretty surprising to me. In fact, I don't think I'd ever heard of a second Uchiha in the town before.

"Older. Doesn't live here." His answers were short, and I hesitated in my sudden eagerness to know more. Why did Sasuke make it seem so…bad to have a brother?

"Where does he live then?" I asked slowly. Sasuke sent me a glance from the corner of his eye.

"What's the last question?"

"Oh! Um…question 30, how have your siblings affected who you are today?" I asked, waiting a few seconds in silence. Finally I looked over to him, tilting my head in confusion. Did he not hear me? Not possible, I'm the 'biggest loudmouth' according to him.

"He's taught me nothing I asked for." Well what the heck was that supposed to mean? I scowled at him, trying to make him get the hint that I didn't understand what he meant. But Sasuke rolled onto his side, ignoring my look of confusion. "We're done."

"What? Your answer told me nothing about him! And what are you doing lying on my bed anyways?"

"Going to sleep." I gaped at his back, which was stupid because he couldn't see my anyways.

"Not on my bed! You're supposed to go sleep on the mattress I pulled out for you!"

"The one that smells like moth balls and ramen? No." Alright, so maybe it wasn't the best mattress in the world, but it wasn't moldy and I had thrown a sheet over it. Plus, the ramen smell should have been a bonus. But this is the guy who thought the world revolved around him.

"Well you can't sleep here, where am I supposed to sleep?"

"On your moth-ball-ramen-smelling mattress." I huffed and suddenly jerked the covers over on my side of the bed. I could feel him turning to face me, but I didn't look up while I slipped underneath the comforter. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping damnit! And no duck-butt asshole is going to kick me out of my own damn bed!"

"You can't sleep here."

"Why not?"

"_I'm _sleeping here." I only scoffed at his defense.

"It's not a big deal, Sakura and Ino sleep in the same bed all the time!"

"They're friends." I opened my mouth before I could realize what I was going to say.

"And we're not?" Damn Ino! I try to have one civil conversation with her and she haunts me for the rest of the night. Just because Ino said we were friends, and I thought we may be possible friends, did not mean that we _were _friends. The whole thought process and actual starting of the process were two completely different things. Crap, is he saying something? Oh he is!

"…I will kill you." Well that sounded like a pleasant answer. I was almost afraid to hear the rest of the sentence.

"Huh?"

"If you snore, I will kill you." He gave me a meaningful look that said 'I'm not repeating myself again so don't even ask' before he turned back around and away from me. Despite the threat I felt my stomach flip. Did he just agree with me? I smiled, but hide it behind the back of my fingers as I snuggled into my side of the bed. Not only did we agree on something, but Sasuke almost called me his friend. It felt strange, but not in a bad way. In a way that I didn't understand, I guess it felt…good. I leaned over and flicked the light off, closing my eyes and realizing that sleep would come to me much easier than I thought.

And apparently, both of us were way too active at night. Maybe it was because I normally slept closer to the middle of the bed. Maybe since Sasuke was a weakling he could only stay on his side for so long before he had to switch. Maybe because I was a heavy sleeper, and something as simple as a touch wouldn't wake me. Maybe because Sasuke was too skinny and needed some type of warmth. Maybe I unconsciously didn't mind sharing mine in the coldness of January.

Maybe we were just looking for comfort.

Either way, I woke up very warm, and very confused. A pale forehead rest against the back of my shoulder, Sasuke's face completely released from the normal stoic frown to show that there was a real human behind all that jerkiness. His hair was a mess, and his bangs swept across his cheeks in a way that I tried to remind myself to make fun of him for later. He breathed through his mouth when he slept, and I could feel it hit my skin every so often. Actually, now looking at his lips, it was amazing that someone who smirked and scowled so much could have a gentle looking mouth while sleeping.

I had been awake for twenty minutes. At first, I didn't move because I was completely shell shocked. Then the shock slowly went to panic when I realized that Sasuke could wake up and any minute and find us. I mean, sure it was his fault for turning over and snuggling into me, but I was the one who moved to the middle of the bed. He'd blame it on some type of gravitational pull because of my weight or some shit like that! And the panic would have gotten worse until I realized that Sasuke really was kind of…appealing when he slept. Not to say I was checking him out! It's just, when his mouth wasn't running, and his eyes were closed, he just seemed normal. His hands were curled in the back of my shirt. His breath tickled my neck if I tried to move too much, and it sent weird shivers through my body. And since he's got those damn two inches on me (I finally can see that he wasn't lying) I practically fit like a glove against his body. It was annoying and frightening at the same time.

I had just said we were friends. He had barely agreed. And now here we were, 8am on a Saturday morning…_cuddling_. It made me sick. Well, it should have. But…but he smelt good! And when something smells good, it makes the queasiness go away, right? Yeah! I pinpointed the smell as cinnamon and sighed. So I guess Sasuke was a spice type of guy after all. It explained why he liked my sauce so much. Why did I even care if he liked it anyways? I was sure Jiraiya would like it even if Sasuke hated it, and he was the one who paid me to let him use my recipe. Sasuke really didn't know I liked to cook. But he didn't seem freaked out or anything. He asked me stuff about it, and that's always a good sign with a guy like Sasuke. It was refreshing to hear more than 'dobe' and 'idiot' from his mouth.

I felt him shift behind me and I immediately froze up. Shit, I still hadn't found a way to get out of this situation. Why wasn't I trying harder? His hands were completely encased in my shirt now, and it was dragging it up to bare my stomach and back. Well, that would have been bad, except his shirt had been mussed during his turning, and I could clearly feel his stomach brushing my back every time he breathed in too hard. I closed my eyes and shivered. Alright, so Sasuke wasn't as weak as I thought he was. Was _this _what Kakashi meant when he said getting to know each other? Because it seemed that the sleeping side of Sasuke was very interested in getting to know me. I blushed at the weird thought and quickly tried to find a way out.

I finally managed to get myself out of the situation by sliding out of my shirt. It was hard, and twice I thought Sasuke was waking up, but he didn't. Shaking off the weird feelings I had watching his pale fingers intertwined with my shirt I left the room in order to find my sanity in the kitchen. Absentmindedly I made breakfast, an arrangement of pancakes, bacon, and toast. The smell must have finally aroused the beast, because Sasuke immerged into the kitchen. He didn't have my shirt, which meant that somehow he recognized that the piece of clothing in his hand was not his. I wondered what he thought of it when he woke up. I decided to keep my mouth shut on the topic.

"You hungry?" I asked, and he nodded once before moving to the fridge. By the time I set the food on the table he was sitting in the same seat as last night with a cup of milk in front of him. I scoffed and placed the huge plate of food in between us. I grabbed myself some orange juice while he started to eat. He seemed to be unable to control his shock when it came to taste, because it came again when he tried my pancakes. He looked up, and I almost blushed at the questioning look he gave me.

"Cinnamon pancakes?" I shrugged and looked away, occupying my mouth with toast. If it was full, I couldn't answer, right? But I could still watch him debate what to say next. He chose to eat instead of talk. Seemed to be a pattern between us now. I swallowed the dry toast in my throat and took a swig of my orange juice to let myself talk.

"When will you be coming back tonight?" He slowed his cutting for only a second.

"Seven."

"Sounds good." And the rest of the meal was in silence. He left right after breakfast, and I spent the day thinking of random recipes that I had wanted to try out. I thought of the questionnaire that we did, and how many of our answers were kind of similar. I thought of Wednesday and what Kakashi expected to see change. I thought about if I really did like the taste of cinnamon as much as the smell. And the entire day I continued to _casually _glance toward the clock to see how much time was left until the teme came back. After all, I had survived one night. And wasn't the first time always the hardest? Apparently in Uzumaki Naruto's world, no. It's not.

It's only the beginning.

**Well? Was it good? I couldn't help adding a little fluff in there. Ha, call me a sucker but I didn't think it was **_**that **_**out of character if Sasuke's asleep. We all know he's just a lonely guy! Plus, looking at him when he was younger, you all **_**know **_**he was a cuddler! Haha, well, hope that you liked this chapter and I hope I see your reviews! Thanks guys!**


	3. Chicken Soup for the Naive Soul

Alright! Well my cold is starting to go away, and so I'm pumped to write! Except Fanfiction is now down, so I don't know when this will be up. –sweatdrops-. You are have been so sweet to me, and I really appreciate the reviews. Sorry if the chapters are coming too late for you guys, but I'm writing another story right now called 'Italy here we come' so go check it out if your bored! Haha, I know I know, shameless self promotion. I also know that I said this wasn't sure how long this story was going to be, and well…I still don't know –scratches head- Honestly, this was supposed to be a three-shot. But now…I'm thinking it may be a bigger story. Well anyways, thank you time! **Chipfest **, thank ou for the first review. And I know, wasn't he so friggen cute?! –cuddles- Okay, now for the rest of you! **Crimson69 **(thanks for the compliment, and I'm glad you like the story!), **Searafina **(I got a beta now, so hopefully I won't have those mistakes! Haha!), **Frozenfears **(haha you're a meanie, Naru would be killed and Sasu would deny any knowledge of his blonde headed dobe!), **Akiru chan **(haha don't worry about it, I like your reviews either way!), **cluenessninja65 **(I'm excited that you're wondering about my story, makes me feel like it's a good one!), **jenniebennie **(haha sorry about the toast, but thinking about Sasuke isn't a bad thing –winks-), **Fangirl66 **(haha, sorry about the dely in this chapter!), **Astharoche **(first off, nice icon xD. And I'm glad you like my Naruto, that makes me uber happy!), **Black-sky-love-me **(well I hope that I reach your expectations with this part too!), **norway22 **(all questions will be answered in due time, don't you worry…and I wish Kakashi was my therapist!), **Nana-Riiko **(I'm so happy you like my idea! Yay!), **Pebbles of the Sand **(Thanks for the get well soon, and I love reading your reviews because they make me so happy!! Thanks so much), **Nikotehfox **(I'm glad you liked the cuddling, apparently everyone thinks hes a cuddler too haha), **Kazanrai **(Thanks for the pic! It was so adorable!), **kat10788 **(you're becoming a regular…and I love it! You caught that sentence, eh? Well, its going to get a little bumpy soon, and Sasuke's gonna have some karma bit him in the ass), **lili **(I'm glad you like the psychology thing, because it's always nice to play around with a new idea!), **SilvermoonRyu **(I'm glad I could convert you to POV!), **miskie27 **(haha I'm so happy you liked the chapter. Yeah, I wanted to hit Ino for going with Sai, but I…kinda told her to, so I can't really), **Yenny **(Yeah the 'S' part came to me randomly, cause I was like 'jesus, there are a lot of people with S for their first intial…the 'S' club!), **Friglit **(I'm glad you like inner Naruto. I try to make him confused, serious, and funny at the same time, which can be hard..), **..wings **(well since you asked SO nicely, okay! –grins-), **zerofangirl **(you are such a sweet reviewer. Have I ever told you that? You make my day every time! Haha I'd so like a Naruto to go, so when you get your Sasuke to go, we'll order together =P), **Chiaki Megumi **(Thanks for the review, sorry for making it hard with the phone and such. And heres that chapter you wanted), **Itooshii Koneko **(I'm actually getting more and more interested in this story as it goes, so I'm happy that others feel the same way! Glad you liked the chapter!), **mockup- **(haha, creepy thoughts mean I'm writing something wroth drooling over, so that makes me happy!...In a weird way), **Pinap1735 **(I'm goint o actually have a Sasuke POV story coming out soon, I've got the idea for it so hold your breath! Haha), **a rather slytherin griffindor **(Yup yup, back Itachi story is going to be playing a part eventually…mwhaha), **sakurananachan **(you know that emotional building up would have to be released sooner or later, and since Sasuke would never cuddle without being asleep…I figured it worked), **blue-nuriel **(I'm so happy! That means I'm getting better as I go! –grins-), **XSasuXNaruXForeverX **(haha you wish! This is going to be a longer story, which means longer time to get to smexy stuff. Actually going to try and devlop plot and characters –gasp-), **Black JUJU **(SO SO SO SO sorry for messing the name up! I'm such a dweeb. Thank you for your amazing reviews, they always inspire me to write more! And yeah, chef Naruto would be so cute), **-Nightly Halo- **(sweet, well I hope this is a good chapter for you. Yeah Badluck was a memory for my graduation, so I know how you feel), **xD **(haha, funny name. Anyways, I'm glad you agree with Sasuke's sleeping position. Thanks for the nice reviews) **Lydia-chan **(ha, your name has been added to my spell check since I've used it so much! Glad you liked my ideas, and I'm sorry for the dely on the chapter.), **Disgruntled Minion **(haha I love when I'm the only one laughing in a place. Probably the most embarrassing thing, especially when you don't know them! Yeah, brotherly 'love'…uh…I can't say much more, except it's not incest, I promise), **Lia **(Yeah I've written two books, and I'm in the middle of a third but these stories have been distracting me…haha opps!), **Wopsidaisy **( haha I'm glad that I was able to make you appreciate SasuNaru! Haha but I will be writing a NaruSasu sooner or later, so maybe I'll end up flipping you back), **robin maxwell **(Blah, I hate when tons of stuff comes up. Thank you for the review, and if you don't have time don't push yourself! Just knowing you're happy with my work makes me happy, I do write it for you guys you know.), **Koneko-chan01 **(Yup yup, Kakashi is a crazy one! But imagine seeing him when you walked into a therapist room…-drools- okay okay, no more bad thoughts!)

And I'm done! Thanks for staying with me. I really apologize for the late chapter, I just…the site screwed me all up! Haha. And thank my beta girl **Rachael-Chan, **because she's sweet and made all my mistakes disappear!!

**Warning: **** This story will contain sexual themes, and boyxboy action…not yet, but soon….-glances to fangirls- uh…no need to glare like that…patience is a virtue you know…ah! –runs away from mob-**

**Disclaimer: ****-taps heels together three times- I wanna own Naruto…I wanna own Naruto…I wanna own Naruto!! –opens eyes-….god damnit it worked in the wizard of oz! Stupid Dorothy…**

**Chicken Soup for the Naive Soul **

Six forty seven. I stared out at the snow that was caking to the side of my house, snuggling closer to the blanket I had around me. Honestly, it got pretty friggen cold in January. I glanced to the muted TV that provided the only light in the entire house. Some stupid show about kids and robots was on. Really, the stuff they put on TV these days was strange. At least in Japan they had cool shows on. America censored their crap way too much for its own good. I mean, they wouldn't even show two guys kissing! Not that I wanted to see it, but people who do like that stuff should get their fill.

Aw crap, it's only been three minutes? I fell back on the couch and stared up above me, watching the shadows dance along the ceiling. It wasn't like I wanted to see Sasuke, but I was bored out of my mind, and now completely snowed in. All thanks to the shitty plow guy who decided I didn't want to go out anyways and left my car stuck in a bank of snow. These stupid town workers only cared about their money and not the quality of their job. And so, even if Shikamaru or Kiba were free to hang out, (which they weren't thanks to the fact that the same stupid plow guy must have plowed their streets as well) I couldn't leave. Not much else I could do since I had already taken my shower and changed into my sleep wear. I could make dinner, but I didn't know if Sasuke had eaten yet or not. My only hope of not dying slowly from boredom was if a certain teme came to my rescue.

...Well that wasn't creepy or anything. Sasuke saving _anything_ seemed way too happy for him. Alright, that clock must be playing tricks on me because it so had been more than two minutes. I think it secretly enjoyed watching me suffer from loneliness.

I turned on my stomach and closed my eyes halfway at the thought. It wasn't like I had never been alone before. Actually, it was more common than not. My parents abandoned me when I was ten or so, leaving nothing for me to trace them by. They had a will already made for each of them, but that only made me more upset than at ease. If they were planning on leaving me like that, why didn't they leave some type of note explaining why? I was their only son damnit! Didn't I deserve some type of apology or reasoning?

Gramps wasn't much help either. Whenever I tried to talk to him about my parents, he would change the subject and distract me with ramen. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. It slowly became a comfort food that I couldn't live without. I ate it a lot when Jiraiya went out with his friends or had to work. My house was pretty big for a ten-year old to be living in alone, but at the time I saw it as an adventure. Now I could jump on the couch or sit on the counter whenever I felt like it. I didn't have to brush my teeth every night or even take a shower! Being alone was great. Well, until you realize just how _alone _you really are. By the age of twelve, I had learned that they really weren't going to come back to punish me. I could completely destroy the house and nobody would come in to care. I started to buy cleaning stuff when I turned thirteen.

Middle school was the worst. Because now kids had heard from their parents about how I was 'abandoned' and 'tossed away'. As if I had a disease or something, people would stay away from me. And in return, I'd glare right back at them and try to hate them too. I mean why shouldn't I? I was a kid who had done nothing wrong, and here these people looked at me like I was strange. I just wanted to fit in, to have friends that would laugh with me and celebrate my birthday, instead of me sitting in the kitchen and singing to myself. Jiraiya would remember sometime the next week and buy me something nice to make up for it. I couldn't really blame him, since he was old and had a lot on his plate as it was. It wasn't supposed to be his job to take care of me.

But then, Jiraiya did something that changed my life. He decided to let me go to Konoha high, instead of the high school where most of my classmates went. At first I was angry, because I thought I'd have to deal with a new set of people who would distance themselves from me. I went into freshman year without a friend. And yet, by the end of the first week, I was surrounded with people. First there was Shikamaru, who amused me with his constant attempts to sleep during class. So when I sat next to him and offered the sloppy notes I had taken, he shrugged and commented that 'he already knew the information'. But somehow my obnoxious smile made him stay awake long enough for us to exchange names and information. And then Shika introduced me to Ino, who immediately thought I was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. I look back now and think that the gods sent Shika and Ino to me to make sure I stayed around for them to play with, because soon after I met Kiba, Chouji, Hinata, Neji, and the girl of my dreams by the name of Sakura. Sasuke was a slight setback, but even he was better than the kids in my other school. At least he would talk to me, even if it was to insult or complain.

And just like that, everything changed. I stopped seeing myself as the victim of some crime, and changed to the hero that survived it. Sure there were times I still felt lonesome, like father and mother's day. But not once since I stepped into Konoha high had I sung alone on my birthday. Ino would just never allow that to happen. It was truly why I never allowed myself to become that hateful again. I never wanted to see Ino or Shikamaru or even Sasuke stare at me like I was a virus. Now that I knew how it felt to be cared for, I wanted to make sure I never lost that feeling.

Hey, speaking of feeling, something was touching my back. I opened my eyes, which had lazily closed, to be face with a shadow lurking over my body. I jerked up in shock, quickly relaxing as I saw a familiar pale face scowling at me.

"You shouldn't leave your door unlocked." Already he was scolding me about something 'dobe-ish' I had done. I yawned a bit, stretching myself like a cat in order to get rid of the haziness in my head. Had I fallen asleep?

"What time is it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eye slowly. I looked up above him to read the clock, which announced that Sasuke was supposed to be here a half hour ago. I turned my attention back to him and scowled. "Hey, you were late!"

"I wasn't late. I just didn't wake you up, idiot."

"Well why not?" He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking toward the kitchen.

"I'm hungry. Come make me food." One of these days, he was going to answer me when I asked him a question. Either that or stop ordering me around like a servant. But still, I pushed up onto my feet and made my way into the kitchen. I found him leaned over my fridge, in search of something to snack on I was assuming.

"Just for that, I should make you eat ramen." He scoffed and pulled away from the fridge, moving to wash the apple in his hand.

"You're lucky I even came. The roads are completely snowed over." _I _was lucky? It wasn't like I wanted him to come over and eat my food! If I was looking for someone to do that, I'd just call Chouji.

"Whatever. You're eating soup." I shoved past him to start to pull out the various ingredients that I needed, ignoring his arched eyebrow. I answered him before he could ask. "I told you, I don't like making things the way other people do. Why the hell would I serve canned soup?"

"And yet you eat ramen?" I paused a bit in my cutting before shaking my head.

"It's different," I mumbled. Something must have hinted the topic was sensitive because Sasuke snorted but didn't speak up again. Instead, he watched while I started to skin the carrot in my hand with a knife. I could have used the peeler, but it was dirty from the cucumbers from last night. And I doubted that the prince would want to have dirty utensils used for his dinner. I was getting irritated with his quiet gaze, so I stopped in my peeling to point to my fridge. "Grab me the chicken from the fridge."

"What exactly are you making?" He asked, though complied with my request. I felt a sense of pride in knowing that even if I was 'submissive' (which I still denied), Sasuke listened when it came to cooking. It was strange, but still rewarding.

"Chicken soup. You're not allergic to celery are you?" He shook his head once and I nodded before starting to cut the carrot into smaller pieces. I already knew he wasn't allergic to carrots or basil, since both were used in my meal last night. But the last thing I wanted was to have a body convulsing on my floor because of something I made.

Sasuke left after I started to cook the chicken in the oven. It was strange that only after the second day, Sasuke felt comfortable enough to wander around my house without my guidance. If it was the other way around, I probably would stay in one room the entire time. I paused in my mixing of the broth to think of what Kakashi had told us. Sasuke really was more adaptable than me. He was able to enter a new surrounding and make it his own in a matter of days. It was unsettling to know that now Sasuke was able to make my house his so easily, because if it was mine, but his also, it made it…ours. And anything being _ours _besides our fighting was weird; weird in the sense that my cheeks were now burning with embarrassment.

Luckily my face cooled before Sasuke came back down in his sleep wear. His hair was wet, signaling that he had taken a shower without me even realizing it. Well, I guess it explained why he was taking so long. This time he wore a white shirt and blue pants, and I still couldn't help but stare. Maybe he had been comfortable in my house before he even stepped into it, because I was sure Sasuke would not be so informal unless he was content. I looked away in favor of checking on the almost cooked chicken. The brother and vegetables were resting in a pot on the stove, the steam rising in demand of being served.

"Have you read the second questionnaire, yet?" I asked, poking the white meat with a fork. I heard him move to my cabinets and I glanced up to see him pulling out the bowls and utensils. He had a pretty good memory, I'd give him that.

"No."

"Me neither."

"Hn." He balanced the dishes while he walked to the table, setting it up without being asked. Probably because he felt weird just sitting there while I cooked. Either way I didn't care. I pulled the chicken from the oven and moved it to the stove, letting it cool while I turned back to face him. Shock filled my stomach when I found his eyes on me again. When had I gotten used to that? Wasn't it just yesterday that it crept me out?

"Wh-what now?"

"What do you want to drink?" I glanced down to see his hands were cupping the two empty glasses.

"Coke." The bridge of his nose wrinkled a bit at my choice, to which I rolled my eyes. "I can drink whatever I want with it."

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, but your nose scrunched. It's a sign of disgust." He smirked at my explanation, moving to the fridge and turning so I couldn't see his face anymore.

"You've been reading about it, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"The unconscious body language." He shut the fridge and turned to me, his smirk growing when I flushed in awkwardness. I quickly shook my head to try and diffuse the blush.

"So what?! If that weird therapist is going to ramble about my 'unconscious movements', then I'm going to learn what they are, so I don't do them anymore. That way he can't say that I'm one thing or another." I grinned and started to chop the chicken up, dumping the small pieces into the simmering broth and vegetables. "Maybe I'll even fake some so that he makes the wrong predictions. I can't wait to see his face when I pull one over on him!"

"Do you really think a trained professional would fall for something like that?" Despite his obvious disbelief in my plan, I nodded. "Idiot."

"I am not!" Unfortunately, the jerking of my head to look up at him made me lose my concentration. I hissed when I sliced my finger open, looking at the open wound that was quickly collecting blood. Normally people would freak at seeing how deep the wound was, but I had cut myself several times in the years I had worked with food. I shrugged before I popped it into my mouth, trying to press my tongue against the cut while checking to make sure none of the chicken got bloody. I barely had time to look before something grabbed my wrist, pulling the injured finger from my mouth and dragging it toward a warm sensation. I looked behind me to see Sasuke holding my wrist firmly in place, running the wound under the water.

"You idiot." Ignoring the sudden change in his mood, I tried to jerk my wrist back.

"Let me go! I get cut all the time doing shit like that, it comes with being clumsy." I thought he'd agree with my self-inflicted insult, but it only seemed to add to his sudden anger.

"Keep this under water. Do not move it." I tensed a bit at the snappish tone Sasuke used, staring at him in shock while he moved from the kitchen. Sure Sasuke made fun of me and insulted me a lot, but normally he was irritated or annoyed. He was never…mad. As far as I knew, Sasuke never got angry. If something bothered him, he'd either walk away or glare, but never vocalized anything. But the tone he had just used with me was not his normal voice. It was enough to keep my finger under the water until he returned. He didn't speak, but pulled the finger from the water and started to bandage it with the medical supplies I always kept in my bathroom. Me and Sasuke could really get bad when we fought, so I was never sure what I would come home looking like. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Not too tight," I muttered, squirming a bit in my spot. Sasuke's fingers were soft against my skin, and it was a complete contrast to the normal painful touch his fists gave me during our fights. He didn't respond to my voice, his concentration on the bandage once he had finished his work. I stared up at him when he didn't let go of my wrist, completely thrown off by the pure anger in his eyes. Sasuke was _never _this emotional. I trembled a bit, which he must of felt through my wrist because he looked back at me quickly. I covered the widening of my eyes with a quick question. "W-what's up with you and cuts?"

"Nothing." He dropped my wrist like acid and walked back to the table as if nothing had just happened. I followed him with my eyes, my other hand slowly sliding along the skin he had gripped before. His movements were still jerky, not fluid like they normally were. Something weird had just happened, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. Still, my heart was pounding rapidly from the intense stare he had given me. Sasuke had seen me bleed several times before. Hell, most of it came from him. What was the difference between him punching me senseless and me having a cooking accident?

"Bring the bowls over here; I'm not lugging this pot to you." My mouth was working even though my head was in a fog. I turned away from him and stirred the remaining bits of chicken into the soup, unwillingly tensing when I felt him brush my arm. Trying to control my nerves I laughed. "You better be thankful I made this for you, because I wasn't planning on making you anything today." Oh great, a lie in order cover another lie. That's always a nice way to start a meal.

"Hn." For once, I was glad to hear his grunt. I filled his bowl with soup before taking my own from him and feeding myself. Once we moved back to the table, I felt the nerves from before become replaced with the thought of him tasting my soup. Sure the spaghetti sauce was mine, but it was a recipe that I had been tweaking for years before I had gotten it right. This was something different. I had only tried to make it a few times, and each time had tasted a little different. So, I wasn't quite as confident as I fronted.

"Stop staring at it like that. You're going to freeze it with your glare." He rolled his eyes at this before taking the first bite, and I looked to the window over the sink when he did. The snow was coming down harder than before, but it wasn't enough to distract me from the butterflies in my stomach. It must be the stoic face he always had. Seriously, he was made to be one of those parliament guards that don't smile or do anything when you greet them. Really that job was made fo—

"You going to eat?" Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I looked back at my soup, which had cooled significantly from the lack of movement. One stir of my spoon sent a cloud of basil-scented steam into my face. Taking a moment to blow on the soup before eating it, I smiled. Good, it wasn't a train wreck. I glanced over my bowl to Sasuke, who seemed content to eat his soup in silence.

"Well…?" But I wasn't going to let that happen.

"What?"

"How is it?"

"Tolerable." I sighed loudly and leaned back in my seat while he took another bite.

"One of these days, you're going to admit that my food is good. And when you do, I'm going to record it and put it on YouTube to show everyone that Uchiha Sasuke complimented my food."  
"Don't you think people will find it strange that you were cooking for me, and then videotaped me eating it?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. I paused in thought, then furrowed my brows at the truth behind his statement. The blackmail could go horribly wrong, and I certainly did not want to get beaten down again by the fangirls.

"Whatever, I'll still get you to say it."

"Sure you will."

"Just shut up and eat your soup you pain in the ass."

"Make me." I don't think either of us expected me to do it. Sasuke was always just annoying me with pointless taunts. So when I opened my mouth to make an insult about him, I did not expect to take on his bet.

"Fine!" We both sat in shock, though I'm sure his was far less noticeable than mine. Even so, his eyes widened a bit from their naturally relaxed posture, and his shoulders straightened then tensed. I could already tell I was going to blush, and the knot in my throat suddenly became too big to swallow. Not wanting to back down now that I had called his bluff, I fisted my hands on the table. "Fine."

"Fine," He repeated, not taking his eyes from mine. For someone who was trying to stay on the good side of the fangirls, I was sure doing a shitty job at it. Still, there was no way I could re-trace my steps, especially since he had pulled his hands back away from the spoon in almost a sign of invitation. I was positive he was as uncomfortable about this as I was, but his pride exceeded mine. He was not going to take back his agreement even if it meant letting me spoon feed him.

This was completely weird. I felt like there was a line between us, which I knew I shouldn't cross. In fact, every molecule of my brain was screaming at me for even thinking about doing it. Still, his gaze wouldn't let go of mine, and I felt entranced when my hand slid straight over the invisible line to grasp onto the spoon. I let my sheer determination to outdo the teme push back any thoughts of my erratic heartbeat or shallow breathing. I took a slow breath before smirking in what I hoped would be a cocky look. It must have worked because Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his lips twitched into a scowl.

"Open your mouth, teme," I mumbled, impressed with the face that I could control my voice during such an embarrassing moment. If he could do that same I couldn't tell, because he snorted and complied with my request. I looked down at his mouth, the dark cavern holding my attention for a second before my head suddenly remembered why I was doing this. So I nodded once, maybe more to myself than him, before gently sliding the silver spoon into his mouth. The moment I felt his lips collapse around the food I pulled my fingers back, leaving the spoon in his mouth. He blinked once, and the strange sight sent me into a round of laughter. Sasuke looked like such an idiot with the spoon hanging from his mouth, I couldn't help but laugh. He pulled out the utensil with dignity, but the damage was done. I could feel tears pricking my eyes from my inability to stop laughing.

"You are such a moron." His voice was low while he continued to feed himself, and I had to chock down the rest of my chuckles so I could finish my dinner. We did still have to get to the questionnaires, and it was getting late. So quickly tossing my now empty bowl into the sink, I waited for Sasuke to do the same before we moved up to my room again. I jumped into the middle of my bed while he slowly sat in the same spot he had slept the night before.

"Alright, questionnaire number two!" I flipped open the folder I had left on my bed from the night before, skipping the first few pages to get to the next part of our 'getting to know each other' folder. Seriously, Kakashi needed to think of some shorter, more professional names for things. "Hey look, only six questions…"

"There's a catch." I knew he was going to rain on my parade. "We have to write down the answer and then _explain _our answers verbally to the other person."

"Well isn't that just a bunch of fun?" I asked sarcastically. Honestly, the idea of opening up more to Sasuke was a little bit uncomfortable. I mean we had only gone through the basic stuff last night, and there was already a huge different in our relationship…still sounded weird saying that. Anyways, I wasn't sure what these next questions were going to do. Hopefully, Kakashi's plans would fail and nothing would change. Yeah, okay.

"Let's just do it the same way we did it last night." Everything was just coming out wrong tonight! I controlled any need to squirm or feel embarrassed in order to focus on the task at hand. "Alright Sasuke, first question: Would you rather live without TV or music?"

"TV, it rots people's brains." Well that was a pretty simple question. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

"I'd rather have music. There're no good shows on anymore." He stared at me before rolling his eyes.

"You are an idiot."

"Aw come on, you know you watched _Power Rangers_ when you were a kid! I bet you wanted to be the green ranger huh? Since he turned all evil and was emo half the time anyways."

"Because nothing says fun like 'running around in spandex and shooting laser beams at ugly monsters."

"Ha! I knew you watched it!" His face blanked at his own confession, but he quickly shook his head and looked back to the paper.

"Question two—"

"Hey!"

"Would you rather never be able to tell a lie, or never be able to speak again?" I scoffed and fell back on my bed, stretching my arms.

"That's so easy! I'd just never tell a lie. And when people asked me if their butts looked big in jeans, I could actually tell them the truth and not get in trouble because I had a psychological problem."

"That is the dumbest reasoning you've ever come up with."

"Why? What would you do?" I asked, leaning up on my elbows. He wasn't facing me, but staring out my window toward the snow that continued to fall. We were going to get a good couple inches if it continued to snow like that.

"Never speak again." I guess I kind of expected that from Sasuke, since he wasn't a big talker anyways. In fact, we had talked more in the past two days than our entire four years of our friendship. "It would give me a reason to stop dealing with people."

"Emooooooooo," I sung out, and laughed when he tried to hit me. I caught his fist in my hand, but fell over when the second one came to fast to block. The pull from my fall made Sasuke rise on his knees to keep himself from tipping over onto me.

"Let go." I stuck my tongue out at his command but released his fist, the two of us settling into our spots again while I glanced to the third question.

"Alright, third one: Would you rather have a big group of okay friends, or one very close one?"

"One." I nodded for him to continue, but it still took him a few seconds to part his lips, "because it's…quality and not quantity that matters."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I smiled and pulled my feet together before grabbing onto my ankles. I never knew why, but the position always seemed to relax me. "I'd rather know that one person would be there for me than have a group of people who _may _be there."

"Yes." I stared at him while his gaze slowly drifted to the space between us, his eyes becoming half lidded in thought. My hands tightened around my ankles, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of worry by the silence that fell between us. What was Sasuke thinking about anyways?

"I've never had a best friend." The admitting sentence brought him out of his trance, and he looked up at me while I shrugged and rocked in my spot. "I've got lots of friends now, and I know that they all care about me equally. My closest friends are Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba, but I wouldn't really say any of them are my _best _friend. I like them all equally, you know?"

"What's your point, dobe?" What was my point? I know I had started with the intent to make Sasuke stop looking so alone, but I wasn't exactly sure how talking about my friends solved that. He was looking at me now, yeah, but it was pretty obvious that he was still a little off.

"Can you tell when I'm lying?" He stared at me as if I had lost my head, and truly I was wondering the same thing. But I ignored my sense of reason to focus on him. "Well? Can you?"

"Most of the time it's pretty obvious to me," He stated slowly. I almost laughed at how cautious I was making him.

"I think I can tell when you lie too. Well, maybe not _lie_, but when something's bugging you."

"How?"

"I don't know. I just…" I stopped myself, unsure of what to say next. For the millionth time that night, I felt weird. How was I able to tell anyways? It's not like he ever really said or did anything. In fact, I bet most people (except for Kakashi and his weird ass eye) couldn't tell if he was even truly annoyed. His face and body language didn't change much. There was just…_something _that did change. Something I couldn't place. My voice came out as a whisper "I just can."

"You're letting Kakashi get into your head, dobe." Maybe, but I wasn't counting on it. "We're moving on to question four."

"Fine fine, calm yourself." I shuffled the paper and glanced down to the question. "Would you rather find true love or get a million dollars?"

"What would I do with a million dollars?" Well la-di-da to him. Some of us didn't have a bazillion dollars to spare.

"So you'd pick love?"

"If they were the only two choices." I rolled my eyes at how repulsed he sounded at the idea of love. No wonder the fangirls had no luck with him.

"I guess I'd choose love too. Money's something you can work hard for. Love is kind of just there. You can't make someone fall in love with you." And I would know by the several attempts with Sakura. But even though she scolded me for swooning over her so much, she practically did the same thing with Sasuke every chance she could get. Which, luckily, wasn't a lot in the past couple days.

"Alright, fifth question. In a fire, would you rather save-" And that was where he stopped. I blinked once at how abrupt his cut off was. What was his problem today?

"Save a stranger or a sibling? Huh, that's a tough one. It really depends. I mean, if my sibling was older than the stranger, then I'd expect them to get out on their own. Oh, but if the stranger was an elderly person, I probably wouldn't bother dealing with them since they'll croak soon anyways." Especially if it was that crazy lady that always came to the restaurant on Wednesday nights and had a fit about how loud it was. You'd think she'd just go to another place, but no. And she always was seated in the area I was serving. Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing her in a fire.

"I'd save the stranger."

"Any particular reason?"

"Because I wouldn't save my sibling." Well wasn't that obvious? I scratched my ear and sighed, knowing that by the way Sasuke was glaring; I wasn't going to get any more information than that. But I stopped my scratching when last night's questionnaire came back to me.

"_how have your siblings affected who you are today?"_

"_He's taught me nothing I asked for." _

"Sasuke…what's your brother's name?" He tensed at my innocent prodding, but I wasn't going to stop. We had both been uncomfortable all throughout the night anyways. What was three more minutes? "And why don't I know him?"

"That's none of your business." I scowled but didn't back down. I didn't care how much he glared at me.

"Kakashi said we needed to get to know each other, right? Well I want to know this. Who is your brother? And don't you try to avoid it, because I'll stay up all night and bug your stupid ass whether you like it or not. So you might as well spill it now!"

"Dobe." But even at the insult, I didn't move my gaze. I could almost hear the grinding of his teeth behind his lips, which were pulled back in a grimace. Still, Sasuke must have figured out how stubborn an Uzumaki could be, because he opened his mouth to speak. "Itachi."

"Itachi?" I blinked once, my brows pulling together at the memory of the name. Where had I heard it before?

"Yeah." He pulled one of his legs up to his chest, and circled his arms around it. He wouldn't meet my gaze as he continued to glare at the window next to us. "Uchiha Itachi."

"Should I know that name?" I asked slowly. His lips pressed tightly together, as if holding something from breaking free. But I had to hand it to Sasuke that he was good at keeping secrets. "Because I feel like I've heard it before."

"I'd be shocked if you did. I didn't know idiots like you bothered to watch the news." His comment was practically laced in acid from the way he spit it out, but I didn't care. Let Sasuke pull his dramatic shit. Either way, he was unknowingly giving me information.

"So he was in the news?" Another pause from the brooding boy. I edged a bit closer to him, but kept my guard up. It was times like these when Sasuke would be much easier to start a fight with. For once, that wasn't what I was looking for. "For what?"

"Why are you asking me that? It's not part of the questionnaire." I paused at his question. He had jerked his head to look at me, but I didn't seem to care about the fierce look he was burning into my head. Why did I care, anyways? All I knew about this Itachi guy was that he was Sasuke's brother, and something bad had occurred between the two brothers to cause Sasuke to avoid any conversation about him. I wondered if any of the girls who 'loved' Sasuke knew about Itachi. About how truly angry their ice prince could get. Would it make them run away? Or become curious, like me?

"No it's not. And I don't know why I'm asking you. You're an asshole and you pissed me off a lot. Still…" I shook my head and finally met his gaze with my own questioning look. "Seeing you act like this kind of proves you don't hate me, ya know? It's kind of...uh…rewarding in a way."

"Glad my anger makes you happy," He said, and I smacked my forehead in frustration.

"That's not what I meant! God, stop being so protective, it's just me. We're supposed to…me and you are supposed to be alike, right? So if you stop…bottling your problems up, maybe you wouldn't be such a friggen jerk to everyone. I'm just trying to be a good friend to you or something, I don't know. Maybe I'm just being affected like you said. Stupid Kakashi, getting into my brain and shit…"

I tightened my hold on my ankles and puffed my cheeks out in a pout. This whole thing was stupid, really. I felt like a teenage girl the way I kept rambling, but I couldn't put what I felt into words. Sasuke was so closed off from everyone else in this town, and yet somehow I had managed to weasel out information. I doubted he had willingly told anyone else about his brother. And knowing that made me want to learn more about what Uchiha Sasuke was hiding.

"Itachi's five years older than me." I jerked my head up when he spoke. His arms were tight around his bent leg; I thought he was going to crush the bones. If he noticed the tight grip, he said nothing about it.

"That's a big age difference."

"Yeah. It makes him about…twenty two now."

"So you're the baby Uchiha." His glare had returned to the normal Sasuke look, and I grinned at how good it felt to have it back. The one before honestly scared the hell out of me.

"I'm older than you."

"Yeah, but there's only one Uzumaki, so I'm not the baby, I'm just the only. You, on the other hand, are the little Uchiha." As if to prove his status, I tapped his nose with my finger and smirked. Maybe I took it too far, because Sasuke launched at my laughing body and tackled me into the bed. We started to wrestle, occasionally tossing in a few punches or bites. Luckily my bed was big, or else we would have fallen off before we had even started. And despite the fact that Sasuke had finally pinned me to the bed, I laughed at how out of breath we both were. "If I were Kakashi right now, I'd say you have anger issues and suggest you come visit once a week to work on it!"

"If you were Kakashi, you'd also have a brain." Stupid teme and his lame jokes. I tried to wiggle my way out of his hold, which seemed to be much stronger than I remembered. Damn, was he like a snake with his vice grip! I think he knew it too, because his smirk was just a little too controlled when I tried to find a way to get out. Damn, I was being submissive again! Trying to prove myself, I growled at him and kneed at his side. He grunted, but didn't get go. "Knock it off dobe."

"No way! Not until I prove that you're just fat and that's why you have the upper hand."

"I barely weigh more than you." Grr, stupid know-it-all. I jerked my wrist hard, making our connection slid against the sheets before it hit into something. I glanced over to my wrist, looking at the folder that was lying open next to us.

"Hey, we never answered the last question."

"Do you even _know _the last question?"

"Do you?"

"I wasn't the one asking about it." I sighed, moving to rub my temple until I realized I still had no control over my arms. Now I couldn't even sooth the headache the teme gave me!

"Then read it to me, bastard." He scoffed as if I had asked him to kiss my ass. But he leaned over me to look at the folder, and I was struck again by the dusky scent of cinnamon. His shirt pressed against my nose, and unwillingly my eyes closed halfway in contentment. It really was a relaxing smell. A smell I was disturbingly getting used to.

"You hear me?" How does he do that? I opened my eyes slowly, but they refused to move past half-mast. How does Sasuke make me feel so relaxed, when all I want to do is hit him? Instead, I leaned moved my head back to relax on the bed, trying to forget his smell.

"Bastard…" the word was weak coming from my mouth, and I felt his body rumble from his chuckle.

"You already said that, dobe." Had I? Looking up to see his arrogant face, I immediately scowled.

"That doesn't mean you've changed! You're a bastard no matter how many times I say it."

"I wish there was an off button on your mouth." Finally I mustered the strength to switch the tables, using my knee to kick at the side of his kneecap. Feeling it collapse, I pushed him onto the bed and grinned at the superior position I had over him. Success! A success that a certain 'dominate' didn't seem to appreciate. "Get off."

"Not in a million years! I'm running this show now." As if I prove it, I glanced to the file that he had been looking at and smiled evilly. Well, as evilly as Uzumaki Naruto could. "And now I'll ask you the question since the _dominant _person takes control of situations, while the _submissive _sits like a good little Uchiha and excitedly waits to answer."

"Just because you got a cheap shot in doesn't change the fact you're still underneath me." Well I'd show him who was in control of this damn conversation! I perched over him and glared down at the question.

"Question six, you stupid bastard."

"Hn." He didn't struggle like I did, seeming completely willing to let me lead. Finally the teme gets it! I could feel myself smirking down at his bored gaze, only half paying attention to what I was reading.

"Would you rather kiss me or Kakashi?" I grinned at the shock on his face, something that Sasuke never showed when we were with oth—

WHAT?!

"What did you just-"

"S-Shut up!" My face growing hot, I quickly shoved my hands over his mouth. Slowly he glanced down at the hands over his lips. I could feel them brush my palms when he opened them, to try and breathe or speak I wasn't sure. I avoided his stare to look down at the questionnaire. That fucking pervert therapist! He even put a damn smiley face at the bottom! I growled and added a third person to my hit list. And he just surpassed Sasuke and landed just under gramps. "Why the hell would either of us want to kiss that guy?! Wait till I see him Wednesday, I'm going to punch him so hard his other eye will turn red!"

"Mmf." Oops. I jerked my hand back quickly while the teme took a deep breath in, glaring at me once before shoving me off of him. I yelped when I fell back against the bed, watching as Sasuke snatched his file and stared down at the question. What, did he think I make this shit up? Apparently so, because he snapped his folder shut and put it onto my nightstand. I hesitated to talk, wondering what was going through his head. Was he mad? Because I was pretty sure steam was coming out of my ears. The idea that Kakashi would even ask something stupid like that was completely unbelievable!

Well, then again, it was Kakashi.

"I'm not answering that." I blinked at his sharp tone and immediately got defensive.

"It's not like I was going to either!" He nodded and the moved to pull the covers of the med down, thought most of them were yanked around from our previous fighting. I swallowed as a memory of the morning fluttered through my head, causing a sharp jerk in my stomach. "You're sleeping in my bed again?"

"Yes."

"But…" Yeah, Naruto, why don't you just tell him why you're protesting? Tell him how he was snuggling into your back and you didn't do a damn thing about it. I'm sure that was the best way to go. And while I was at it, why didn't I just stab myself in the stomach with a rusty knife?

"But what? You didn't even pull the other mattress out tonight." Crap! That's what I could have been doing while he wasn't here. I tried to think of why I hadn't yanked the mattress out when I had been upstairs earlier today, but for some reason it hadn't even crossed my mind. And for someone who was trying to protest Sasuke sleeping in my bed, I wasn't really giving him a lot of other options.

"Fine, whatever." Were guys supposed to sleep like this? I mean sure, Ino and Sakura had done it all the time. In fact, that was the reasoning I used last night to get the teme to keep from kicking me out of my own damn bed. But now that I was sliding underneath the covers with Sasuke, I saw a major hole in that argument. They were _girls. _And girls could get away with murder if they wanted to. So no, me and Sasuke were not the same as Sakura and Ino. In fact, we were very, very different!

"Shut the light off." I wasn't sure if he was tired or aggravated with how long I was taking to settle in, because his words came out as more of a command than anything else. I wanted to take the lamp and hit him in the head with it, but I decided against it. It'd be a pain to clean up later.

"Hey, Sasuke…?" He must have heard me, because he moved in a way that caused our backs to brush. Reluctantly I wondered if this position would last.

"What?" At the gruff tone, I smiled. Our wrestling from earlier must have worn him out too. My eyes already felt too heavy to keep open.

"Uh...night." It felt strange coming from my lips, but I forced it out anyways. When was the last time I had someone to say that to? How many people had the chance _to _say it to Sasuke?

"…Goodnight dobe." Apparently, not a lot, because the insult came out weaker than he expected. In fact, if it wasn't us, I'd almost say it was less of an insult, and more of a nickname. One that made my stomach warm and my eyes tighten in embarrassment. As I started to accept the darkness that crept into my mind, I wondered how I would wake up. Alone or being held?

I found myself wishing for something that, if I was awake, would make me blush.

**I finished! Yeah, I'm thinking that this will be a full out story. Not like, 30 chapters or anything, but I'm guessing about 10ish. Gah, just thinking about it makes me nervous! So you all found out a little more about our two boys, and even got some fluff…well, the most fluff a idiot and jerk could make with each other. Kakashi is such a pervert…but he is a very smart, revengeful pervert, that will get his answers whether the boys want to tell him or not! He'll make his re-appearance in the next chapter, and it'll be one you don't want to miss. =P Review and I'll write more! **


	4. Positive Punishment:Kakashi Style!

Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be posting this chapter because I got such a good feedback from the last chapter! Yea, most of you are shocked that this is turning into a full story, and I seriously don't blame you…I'd be shocked too if I was you! Haha, well I'm happy to throw this up because I've got tons of midterms in my classes…but then I get spring break for a week! Yay! SO uh…oh! Thank yous! Thanks to **XSasuxNaruxForeverX **for the first review. Haha you're too funny! –hands bag for anxiety- You really need to calm down about this lemon thing haha. Okay, now for the rest. **Norway22 **(-giggles- Wouldn't you like to know? Well, I guess so since you asked about Itachi..-sweatdrops- opps)**, sakurananachan **(Oh you have no idea, Kakashi is ruthless when he needs to be…a perverted sexy way –winks-)**, Black Juju **(I'm not saying a word about Itachi, because I'm evil…haha I'm glad you liked the serious/funny part of the baby, because it was made just for that reason. To show how the two deal with serious issues through teasing)**, Gigglechan **(Well it's Kakashi, he had to put _something _positively evil in there…and he gets worse in this chapter!)**, Deathangelebz **(haha, no this is reality…even though the thought of a whole story is kind of scary….but I will prevail!)**, sasuxxnaruxxluverxx **(Sasuke is a very closed up guy, but when he does speak, you need to analyze because it's going to tell you something he doesn't want to admit! =) haha)**,** **Searafina **(I'm glad that you liked the chapter, and this one I think is better so…enjoy!)**, Itooshii Koneko **(The food part was a bonus since they're both so damn stubborn! And no, I really have no life…-sighs sadly)**, XxFirexDance **(-blushes- you can finish the other story if you want to, though I'm honored you're a junkie of me now! Thanks so much!)**, Pebbled of the Sand **(-looks at the name of the chapter and grins- Oh yea, Kakashi is ready for some punishment…)**, Kazanri **(He gets even worse in this chapter! Poor Naru-chan….but he's too cute to not want to—stops self- well, you'll see)**, Chiaki Megumi **(Yea, you can call me Niki-chan…actually I'm honored! –blushes-, Oh and I'm feeling better, thanks for the nice words!)**, The Desiree Incident **(Oh, Kakashi is only getting warmed up…being the 'therapist' really means 'mwhahaha I can do whatever I want')**, miskie27 **(Yea, I hate when they're super duper emo, especially Naruto! Because he's allowed to cry and stuff, but he's strong damnit!)**, spiritually-lunar **(Thank you for the compliment, I am taking my time with this story because it had become very special to me)**, Corey K **(haha you don't have to review if you don't want to, although I am extremely grateful for your nice review!)**, Nikotehfox **(Oh boy, then if you're waiting for Kakashi this chapter will be very entertaining for you)**, cluelessninja65 **(oh boy, you sure had a lot of questions! I'm glad that you are interested in this story, because I write it just for people like you!)**, Magentadusk **(Thank you very much! Writing them in AU is kinda hard when you want to keep them in character, but I try my damnest!)**, Wopsidaisy **(I'm sure hoping it gets better! And yea, you can really see the different characters by the fire question…gotta love them either way!)**, hollowsmile **(Well Naruto is one of those guys who forces himself to understand people if he had the slightest inkling that they are lonely or in pain)**, -Nightly Halo- **(everyone is shocked enough that I'm making ten, I think I'd kill some people if I made it longer! Haha)**, Sheeva1331 **(well not a professional cook, but yea I can cook. I have that same issue when I bake chocolate chip cookies! –licks lips- yummy!)**, Kida-san **(haha I'm happy that I make you happy. It's really an honor to be complimented –blushes- thanks and I hope you enjoy!)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha well if he's your hero, I bet you will fawn over him at the end of this chapter! –winks-)**, DarkEra'Ssnow **(You know that he was staring at the question going 'hmm…this isn't right…needs a smiley!' haha)**, ..wings. **(Damn right! I was pissed when I heard they cut it out, and I wanted to give Naruto its due! And yea, Kakashi gets even worse in this one)**, coffeeneurotic **(haha, well at the end of this, you'll be going 'damn Kakashi, you are evilly awesome..' )**, Sake-Chama **(I'm glad that you are so interested in this story, and yea I'm fascinated with Psychology so I can't help but add stuff in there)**, Zerofangirl **(haha yea well you'll love Kakashi even more in this one…and yes, of course you're sweet! Always leaving me those nice long reviews that make me blush! And you'll have to wait for Itachi)**, purrpolisprincess **(don't worry about the timing, you revie makes me happy anyways! =) haha)**, Akiru-Chan **(Silly lazy girl, I like you anyways! Oh, and thanks for the hug, makes me squeak if you hug too hard! –blushes- which is why most of my friends do it)**, KittyWoman12 **(Aw, we all know how defensive Sasuke can get when he's truly embarrassed)**, Nan-Riiko **(aw thank you! I think that the last line should leave a good lasting impression!), **blue-nuriel **(haha well I assure you of two things. One, this chapter won't make you hungry. And two, Kakashi will be even more evil!)**, xXPixiexxStikXx **(aw thank you for the nice review! I'm glad that I gave you some entertainment, and I hope that you like the new installment!) **, kat10788 **(hmm..why do you get that feeling…maybe because there is more! –grins-, another hug! I'm like a toy, I squeak when I get hugged)**, Friglit **(aw I'm not supposed to take away from your school work! Even though I'm very honored by it! –blushes- thanks for the nice review)**, Lydia-chan **(Well we all know this, but little Naru has to find out who his true love is on his own!)**, adsf **(and Kakashi is only to get even more evil at the story goes on, don't you worry about that!) **, tsuki42 **(yea, I'm taking my time to develop this story because I don't want them to rush. I want them to go through tough times and stuff to get to their real feelings) **, robin Maxwell **(Well Kakashi is so cute, I just had to make him a little pervert! Thoes silly books get to his therapist mind)**, **and **mockup **(don't worry, I'm always a happy loser! And as the story goes on, we'll see even more of Sasuke opening up and all of that good stuff! –grins-)

Well now that that is done….enjoy the story!

**Warning:**** In this chapter, there will be some very light boyxboy action…ah! –gets glomped by fangirls- haha…that anxious huh?**

**Disclaimer: ****I own Naruto…I'm also the queen of England…wait, I'm not? –Throws fake scepter down- god damnit I still down own him then! –Picks up dress and walks off- **

**Positive Punishment: Kakashi style!**

Warm. You wouldn't think the bastard would be warm, but he is, especially since we were underneath a pile of blankets. I shifted a bit, my body shivering when something pulled me back into my new found heat source. Oh, and did I mention that thing was attached to Sasuke? As if sleeping next to him wasn't embarrassing enough, Sasuke had to be a…a _cuddler. _I knew all that pent up emotion had to go somewhere! But why did I have to be the victim of his outbursts of affection? Gah, I just said affection. It wasn't like Sasuke even knew what he was doing, and I'm not sure getting snuggled with when the attacker is unconscious can really be considered affection. Well, maybe it could. My brain never did work so well when Sasuke was this close to me. And now with his arm around me, the idea of just wearing button up shirts to bed would be useless. Now I was gonna have to make sure I peed before I slept, too. I'm sure that Sasuke wouldn't be happy with me waking him to take a leak.

Crap. I was talking like this was going to continue! And it was definitely not going to keep occurring. I was not going to be molested anymore! And if not for the secure grip around my waist, I would have so slipped out of his arms and ran for the door. Unfortunately, sleeping Sasuke didn't want a repeat of heat loss from the day before. This time, he had his arm practically latched to my hip. All attempts of escape so far had been futile. I let out a weak sigh and closed my eyes, which before had been focused on the snow that continued to drift down past my window. Seriously, what was with this storm? Didn't the weather dude say it was going to be sunny and bright? Yea, and pigs were flying past my window screaming for me to…to…ah.

Sorry, my train of thought got derailed by the warm breathing against my ear. Seriously, this kid was starting to reek of sexual tension. I shifted, but that only made me bite my lip to keep myself from gasping. Soft lips brushed the sensitive nerves on the shell of my ear, and it certainly aroused interest from my body. Oh god, this wasn't happening. I closed my eyes and prayed to any god that would listen in order to keep my suddenly (and I mean, two second flip) awake body from reacting. But wouldn't that just be boring? Another soft brush and heavy breath into my ear earned me several twitches of arousal inside of my stomach. Well, maybe a little south of that particular area, but I'd rather not admit to that mentally. Since he was an Uchiha, he had to continue to be an ass even while he slept. So it shouldn't have been a surprise that he continued to torment my appendage with his hot breathing and swipes of his mouth.

"Sa-Sasuke…" My eyes shot open in panic. I did not just moan his name…did I?! I could already tell I was blushing. This was just a really bad dream. It had to be. Because I was Uzumaki Naruto, and he was Uchiha Sasuke…doesn't anyone see the problem here? Well apparently my body didn't. My hips jerked back while I arched a bit, fighting to keep my eyes from closing again. No way, closing eyes meant heightened touch senses. And that last thing I needed was to get a complete hard-on.

Except, oddly enough, I wasn't the only one who seemed to be having that issue. Now, I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I sure as hell knew what I felt against my ass. No wonder Sasuke was so fucking cuddly! He was having some weird ass dream that was getting him hard! Part of me was sympathetic I guess. It pretty much sucked to get a wet dream when somebody else was in the area. Especially Kiba, since he wouldn't let you live it down until you beat the crap out of him. And I was guessing it would be even more embarrassing for someone like Sasuke. The guy barely let an eyelash fall out of place, never mind lose control of his dick. I shivered a bit after the mentioned part pressed against me again. I almost gasped out when I felt my own arousal harden at the touch. What was going on with me?! Sure, I was a horny teenage guy who would streak around the school for a decent blow job. But Jesus, this was Sasuke!

Yea, and Sasuke's hand was complete ice compared to my steaming skin. I leaned my head back at the sensual touch. Damnit we needed to glue our shirts down! Because my back and his chest had made way too much contact in the past 24 hours. I squirmed, and I wasn't sure if it was the idea of being trapped or how disgustingly good his fingers trailed against my stomach. Alright, so the bastard wasn't a eunuch like I thought. In fact, from what I could tell he was extremely well off. Then again, he was 'perfect', so I guess his body had to be too…okay, enough thinking about that! I had to get away before Sasuke's weird ass dream became a reality. And I was certainly not excited about that. I wasn't!

My panic rose when I realized something horrible. Sasuke was waking up. And knowing the asshole, having his hand shoved up my shirt and snuggling into me was not going to end up pretty. I shoved my lip between my teeth when his incoherent mumble vibrated against my ear. Okay, note to self. Do not let temes near my ears. Really strange reactions happen, like the shivering of excitement I was currently experiencing. Using his arm to grip to sanity, I struggled to pull it hard enough to get it away from my waist without actually jerking him awake. I didn't dare breathe while I worked on my assignment, and oddly the mission impossible music ran through my head.

I freed myself of his grasp and rolled, too excited about getting away from the clutching Uchiha to notice the edge of the bed.

"Ouch! God damnit!!" I grabbed my head after it hit the floor, rolling around in pain. Why did they make floors so hard anyways? Why couldn't they make them into mattresses so we didn't have this problem?! I continued to whine as I tossed and turned.

"What are you doing?" I peeked an eye open once I slowed my rolling. The bastard was staring down at me in a half open gaze. I could tell he was still struggling to wake up when he yawned and leaned onto his elbow. Grumbling as I sat up, I glared over to him and continued to rub my head.

"This is all your fault! If you didn't—" I stopped in my tracks, my eyes widening a bit in shock. Crap, I almost just let that slip didn't I? He arched an eyebrow, proving that even half asleep Sasuke was a jerk. Throwing my hands up in front of me, I waved them as if to dispel the sentence I was saying. "Nothing, never mind."

"Why are you on the floor?"

"Uh…you…kicked me! Yeah!" The brow stayed arched.

"Kicked you?"

"In your sleep. I was just minding my own damn business and then you kicked me out of the bed. I always knew you were a jackass! With a kick like that, we should strap a saddle on your back and ride you through Mexico." He scoffed at my comment, and I mentally cheered at the ability to bullshit my way through our conversation.

"Don't sleep so close then." My eye twitched as I forced myself not to blab about the fact that I wasn't the cuddler.

"Teme."

"Dobe." We stared at each other for a few seconds before turning away in a discomfort I couldn't understand. Sure, things had gotten a little weird….okay, _really _weird. In fact, I still hadn't calmed down yet. As if it would help, I glared down at my lap. Nope, no good. I needed a cool shower and maybe a long mental talk about why my body decided that now would be a good time to 'wake up'. But I'd have to wait until the bastard left before I could do that.

"When are you leaving?" Hopefully soon. I only looked up when he didn't answer. He seemed distracted by something behind me, and I looked back to see the snow had picked up again.

"Whenever that stops. My car is probably snowed in." Damnit, not what I wanted to hear. I knew his look was only a reaction to the growl I let out. Ignoring him, I moved out of my room and down the stairs. I shoved my bare feet into my shoes, passing on the thought of grabbing a coat. Eh, I was only going out to see how snowed in he was. Slipping my way down the walkway, I nearly tripped over myself when I saw just how much snow was piled behind him. God damnit!! I glared up at the sky, silently wondering what I had done to deserve this. The loud noise of a truck caught my interest, and instantly perked at the snow plow that was coming toward my house.

"Hey! Hey you!" I ran to the side of the plow, waving for him to notice me. It was only when I got to his door that I realized it was the same jerk who had plowed my car in. I narrowed my eyes and instantly turned the wave into a fist. "You're the jerk who pushed all that damn snow into my driveway!"

"So?" He really wanted to die, didn't he?

"Well go plow my driveway. Isn't that your job?!" He laughed, but not a nice 'okay buddy, because you're so handsome and amazing'. No, it was a 'get real' laugh.

"I'm not paid to do any citizen's property. I only have to clear the streets."

"I can't even get _on _the damn street thanks to your stupid plow!"

"Well then I guess you should get a plow to take care of that."

"You bastard!" But he ignored my anger and continued to drive down the street. I was persistent in my need to shout and jump on the neatly paved road, but he didn't seem to care while he drove out of my sight. Alright, if he wasn't going to do it, I'd shovel the damn car out. Because there was no way I was going to waste my entire day with Sasuke. I pushed myself back into the house, not caring I was dragging water through the hall when I slid back into my room. Sasuke was still in the bed, wrapped in our blankets. Uh…my blankets. Not ours.

I blinked while I watched him stare down at his hands, fingers experimentally curling into his palms and back out again. It was strange really. He almost looked like he was searching for something. I moved closer to him, and the shuffling of my shoe must have brought him back to reality. He looked up at me, and I froze in my spot at the strange look that passed through his eyes. Why did he look so…confused? Uchiha Sasuke wasn't allowed to be confused. Confusion showed weakness to Sasuke, I could tell by the repugnant stares I got whenever I asked a question. But here he was, almost seeming to look at me for an answer in my gaze. My hands clenched at my sides when I felt my stomach jerk.

"Sasuke…"

"Hn." Immediately the look was gone, and switched out for a cold glare. I blew out an aggravated breath at how easily his mood changed.

"Fine, whatever." I shoved past the unwanted feelings and moved to my closet, starting to throw out clothes. I shrugged off my shirt and dropped it onto the ground, shivering a bit at the loss of heat.

"What are you doing?" His voice was sharp enough to make me jump. I turned to him when I had grabbed the clothes I needed, walking over and dropping them onto the edge of the bed.

"We're going to shovel you out," I replied, starting to wiggle out of my sleep pants. I continued to speak while I dropped them to the ground. "Otherwise you're going to be stuck here all day. The fucking plow guy seriously has some sick pleasure in trapping me in this house."

"Do you normally strip in front of your guests?" I blinked once before looking down at myself. I grinned and slapped my stomach, which jumped at the attention.

"Not like I got anything to hide. Especially from a bastard like you." I laughed at my own joke while I tugged my pants up my legs. Hopping a bit to get them completely up, I looked to him and nodded to the extra pair of clothes I had. "You should fit in those. But if you stretch any of my clothes, I'll make you buy me some more."

"Idiot." But he started to change while he spoke. My eyes darted away from him, scowling at the wall next to us. Like I really wanted to look at his ugly body. I nodded to assure myself before grabbing my shirt, sliding it over my head. He was probably lanky anyways. I almost blushed when my conscious flashed back to the hard sensation that had been pressed to my back that morning. Alright, so he wasn't _that _bad. "You done?"

"Uh, yea." I looked back to him, and almost grinned at the grimace he wore. Normally, Sasuke would not be caught dead in my laid back style, but I doubted he wanted to get his clothes wet and muddy with the shoveling. Plus, it wasn't like he looked ugly in them. In fact, he kinda looked…good.

"You look more stupid than normal, dobe." Now if only I could shut his mouth. I glared at him and moved out of the room. He followed me to the closet I had ignored before, tossing on my coat. I waited for him to finish getting his jacket before moving back into the snowstorm. Easily I dug through my garage to get my shovels. I always made sure I had two so that gramps couldn't get out of shoveling. And don't think for a minute that Jiraiya was weak, because he was healthier than half the kids in my school. But whenever snow came around, he suddenly got 'sick'. Yeah, right.

"Let's just get you out of here before I bury you in the snow," I muttered, trying not to throw my shovel of snow onto his head at the smirk I got.

"You could try."

"You're lucky I don't." I gave a huff of white smoke before I started to dig out the back of his car. The sooner I got done with this, the sooner the idiot could go home. Sure, he had to come back later, but that didn't stop him from giving me a few hours of rest. Most of our work was done in silence for the first half of the shoveling, mainly because I was too focused to speak. 99% of the time, I didn't concentrate when it came to work. But when I had a goal, nothing was going to stop me! Especially not some dumb frozen rain.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" I swear I felt my ear twitch at the melodious voice that shifted through the air. Instantly I stopped in my shoveling to turn to face a glowing teenage girl that came running toward us. I grinned when I saw her soft pink hair shift into her face, which she brushed back and smiled. Stopping in front of us, the shorter girl looked on us with beautiful green eyes that seemed to sparkle in curiosity and excitement. Haruno Sakura was gorgeous.

"Sakura-chan!" She glanced to me at my excited hello, her lips scowling a bit.

"I told you to stop calling me that. I'm just Sakura you idiot." I grinned despite her words, moving forward to continue our talk. Sasuke didn't seem to pay attention to us and continued his shoveling around the car. Her eyes stayed on him, making me wince a bit. It was painfully obvious where her interests were, but it didn't stop me from trying. Guess I'm a sucker for punishment.

"What are you doing at my house? Did you miss me that much?" She rolled her eyes and glanced behind her, and it was only then I saw Ino casually walking toward us.

"No way. Ino just wanted to go grab some hot chocolate from the store. And then I saw you two and I wanted to come say hi. So what are you two doing anyways?"

"We're trying to get the teme's car out from the snow so he can go home already," I said, slightly glaring at the guy that Sakura kept looking to. Seriously, what did Sasuke have that I didn't?

"Ah yes, day three of your imprisonment." I laughed and looked up to Ino, who nodded to Sasuke in greeting before turning back to me. "I see that you're both still alive. That's great!"

"Huh? Why?" I asked, blinking. A mischievous smile came onto her face as she tried to innocently shrug.

"Ino's got a bet with Kiba that says you two wouldn't be alive on Monday." I nearly fell over in the snow at Sakura's words. My eye twitching, I glared over to Ino, who already had her hands up in a peace symbol.

"I bet for your survival you know! I knew that you two weren't going to risk going to jail for each other."

"That's not the point! You _bet _on me like a horse!" I felt my anger grow when she leaned forward, pinching my cheek.

"But at least you're a cute horse, right?"

"Gah I'm going to dunk your head into the snow!" She screamed and ran away as I chased her around the yard, completely forgetting about the car. Sasuke was practically done anyways, since he was anti-social and didn't stop to chat. From the corner of my eye I could see Sakura trying to start a conversation with the silent guy. I felt my hands clench and turned back to the issue at hand. Well, at least pouring snow down Ino's shirt made some of the anger go away. I laughed at the completely frantic look she had while trying to shake the snow out of her shirt, but her jacket must have got in the way.

"Uzumaki! I'm going to hurt you so bad!" It only made the laughter come out harder than before. Whenever she used my last name, it meant I had done something pretty ingenious. Well, for her it meant 'troublesome'. Oh, speaking of that…

"Hey Ino? How'd your date go?" She instantly froze up, and it wasn't because of the snow. I blinked and tilted my head as she turned to me, a look of sadness filling her features. Aw damnit, something went wrong. "What happened?"

"Shikamaru came into the restaurant me and Sai were at."

"Isn't that what you wanted? I mean, him coming all the way to where you are just to stop your date is a pretty possessive thing." She shook her head and sighed, walking toward me with almost a defeated gait.

"He came with Temari, that girl from our science class. They _too _were on a date." I winced a bit when she answered me, and her shoulders slumped even lower. The plan had not only backfired, but blew up the entire gun it was in. "They looked really good together Naruto. Like…_really _good. They seemed like they were having a lot of fun and everything."

"Did Shika actually stay awake? Because then I'd have to go check on his health condition." Alright, so heartache plus humor did not turn out good. I sighed and moved forward, trying to make Ino's frown go away with a wave of my hand. "Don't worry about her, Ino. She's got nothing on you. Besides, I'm sure that Shikamaru was feeling the same way you are when he saw that guy at your table. And let me tell you, a cute girl like you being taken out by other men will not sit well with his jealous side. I'm sure he'll be bugging me on Monday about it."

"You really think so?" She stared up at me with such hope, I had to nod.

"Don't even worry about it! That lazy ass will have you out on a date in no time!" She giggled at my optimistic goal, which made me relax. I hated seeing the people I cared about upset. They were practically my family, and I owed them a lot of my sanity. So if there was a way I could make them happy, I was going to do it.

"Hopefully I'll have better luck than Sakura over there." I looked up to see the upset look Sakura held while Sasuke brushed the snow from his hood. I couldn't help but grin in my own pathetic way. Yeah, it hurt to see her upset, but it gave me hope that maybe she'd start to like me instead. I blinked once when the image of me and Sakura dating went through my head. Normally my stomach would flip around or my heart would practically burst in excitement when I thought of us together. She was everything I could dream of! Pretty, smart, independent, she was all of that. But now as I stared at her in the snow, my heart continued down its normal beating path, and my stomach only grumbled in hunger. I almost felt empty.

"Naruto? Naruto!" I shook my head and focused back on Sakura, who now had moved from the side of the car and was standing in front of me. When the heck did she get over here? Was I really that out of it?

"Sorry Sakura, what did you want?" She seemed surprised by something, but I couldn't figure out what it was. It seemed to take her a moment to recover.

"Oh, uh…oh! Can I talk to you?" I grinned because it was natural, and maybe not so much that I actually felt excited. Still I nodded, even when Ino sent me a warning glance. If it was enough to make her pull away from her precious Sasuke, it must be important. And nobody was going to deter me from finding out.

"Sure! What's up?" She seemed to become suddenly embarrassed, which was completely different for the violent girl. Normally she only got like this around Sasuke, and so it made a part of me wonder if she was starting to jump ship. Wait, when did that part get so…small?

"Well…I was wondering if there were any good movies out that you were interested in?" No way. Was Sakura asking me, Uzumaki Naruto, on a _date?_ There was just no way! I felt that same small part of me jump in excitement. Sakura actually wanted to go with me! Not Sasuke!

"Well yea, there are tons of movies I wanna see. But in the theatres right now, I wanna check out the new 'Friday the 13th' movie soon. I heard it's supposed to be wicked scary." I could already feel my knees tremble when I said that. Okay, fun fact about me. I hate scary stories. So knowing that some guy with a screwed up hockey mask was running loose in some movie wasn't exactly what I considered fun. Still, seeing her excitement made it almost worth the terror in my stomach.

"Really?"

"Chyeah! And I bet I could kill Jason off if I was in the damn movie." Lying to impress a girl is always nice…

"Do you think Sasuke would like that movie?" I stopped in my thoughts of how quickly Jason would kill me when my stomach suddenly dropped. Why was she bringing Sasuke into this?

"Uh…maybe. Why?" The question was stupid. I knew it, because I could see by the deepening of her blush what my answer was. It was practically chocking me by the time she responded.

"Well I wanted to see if he wanted to go to the movies with me, but I didn't want to suggest a movie that he would dislike. And since you've been learning about what he likes, I thought that you'd know better than anyone what he'd want to see." I stared at her in shock, and it took all of my strength to keep my jaw from dropping. She just wanted to know for Sasuke? She used me? Granted, I knew Sakura wasn't trying to be mean. All she wanted was the same thing I wanted; the person I liked to notice me. But still, it hurt a lot. I swallowed over the lump in my throat at the idea of Sakura trying to get Sasuke on a date with her.

Only, I wasn't really sure what I felt. I looked over to Sasuke, who was almost done with the cleaning of his car. Shouldn't I be mad at him for trying to steal Sakura away? Well, he didn't really _try, _more like it just happened without his consent. But still, most of the time the guy got mad at the other guy for taking their lover away. I was supposed to go over there, shove Sasuke into the car, and yell at him for making Sakura want him. So then, why did I feel myself glaring at Sakura from the corner of my eye? Sakura was my friend, and the girl I had been crushing on for years. Why would her going with Sasuke make me feel envious…of her?

I didn't want to think about it anymore. Instead, I pushed myself to follow the rules of the storyline that had been placed in front of me. I moved to Sasuke, despite Ino's calls of my name, and shoved him hard. He wasn't expecting the hit, because he stumbled back a few steps before regaining his footing. One glare told me that a fight was easily going to be started.

"You better have a reason for touching me, dobe." He spoke with such authority, that I couldn't wait to raise my fist and smash it across his face. The two of us fell to the ground, Sasuke kicking me off of him before starting his own attack. He managed to catch my cheek and temple before I lunged forward and smashed his forehead with my own. The attack stunned him, and I took the opportunity to knee him hard in the stomach. Luckily neither of us had eaten, because I was pretty sure that would have made him cough up his breakfast. My elbows were scratched from the now shoveled tar, but I didn't care about the blood as I tackled Sasuke into the side of his car. I grabbed his throat and moved to punch him, but he easily caught my fist and used the connection to yank me forward while his foot shot straight into my stomach. Fuck that hurt, but I barely winced because I wanted to show I wasn't weak. We were both panting a bit, the cold air burning the inside of my lungs. My hand was still bruising around his throat, but I knew he could breath. His foot had lessened on my stomach, and yet still the pain was there. We stared intensely at each other, as if waiting for the next move to start up our fight again.

Normally I felt a thrill of fighting with Sasuke because of how good he was. I sometimes liked to fight with him. We never really did too much damage. The one time I had knocked him out had been scary. Seeing Sasuke lay limp like that while blood trickled from his mouth sent me into a panic mode. Immediately I had brought him to the nurse's office, and didn't even care that I got three weeks of detention for the attack. I just wanted to know that Sasuke really _was _going to be okay, and that I really hadn't taken it too far. As soon as I saw his eyes start to open, I had left the room. I still hadn't told him I sat with him the entire day.

I shouldn't have felt embarrassed about my need to check his status. Really, I didn't have to run, since Sasuke had stayed with me when he accidentally sprained my wrist. For once, Sasuke hadn't meant to hurt me, but my squirming and jerky motions caused my wrist twist in a way that made it completely useless for a week. Sasuke had demanded I went to the nurse, simply saying, "like you need another part of you not to work, dobe". Sure, he had insulted my intelligence again. And yea, I guess the glares were pretty obvious in his distaste of me. But he had missed his last class while I got looked at. Even though we fought the entire time I was getting my wrist secured, I had to admit it felt nice to know that we never wanted to actually _maim _each other.

This time was different. I still didn't want to kill him. In fact, I almost didn't want to fight him. The only reason why I had thrown the first punch was because I thought I had to. I mean, he was taking Sakura away from me! I had to try and fight back, didn't I? This was probably the only time I had a reason to actually go after the bastard, and yet I didn't feel proud of the bruise forming on his face. There was no satisfaction at how my hand grabbed his neck, or how I had managed to escape his earlier hold. It just felt empty again, and Sasuke could tell.

"Why are you fighting me?" It basically made it clear. Neither one of us knew why we were fighting. I felt my grip drop away from his neck the moment his mouth opened. My glare was weak, despite how hard I tried to get it to stick. I wasn't mad at Sasuke. He wasn't who I was angry with. The thought made me push off of him and stand. I waited until he rose as well before I spoke.

"Your car is brushed off. Leave. And don't come back tonight!" His eyes flashed dangerously at my commands, and I cursed myself for stepping back a bit. Still, his voice was smooth and calm.

"Kakashi told us—"

"I don't give a damn about Kakashi or anyone else right now! Just go away teme! I don't want to see you!" I panted while I stared at him, tightening my fists in preparation to fight again. If he wasn't going to leave, I was going to kick his ass all the way down the damn street.

"Hn." My hands instantly unclenched when he turned from me, walking toward the walkway to my house. Somehow he knew I was going to speak, because he sent a glare back at me. "I'm going to get my keys and change, idiot."

"Oh." I shifted a bit on my feet as he continued to glare at me, the only thing blocking our gazes being the snow that fell between us. A slight guilt ate at my stomach when I realized how harsh I had been. Maybe I didn't need to yell at him like that. I mean, I started the fight, right? Sasuke hadn't really done anything at all. The only reason any of this happened was because of Sakura, who now stood at the edge of the driveway with Ino.

"Naruto, you're bleeding." Ino's soft voice broke the silence, and Sasuke immediately turned his head to walk back to the house again. I placed my fingers against my temple, where somehow the bastard had cut me. Pulling the digits back to stare at the blood, I stayed quiet. I was angry and sad. Completely frustrated, upset... and confused. I was definitely confused. So I didn't speak when Sasuke calmly moved from the house with his stuff. I only stepped back from the driveway when he started to pull out, and I watched him drive off until the white force field of snow made me lose him. Only then did I glance back at the two girls, who had also fallen silent.

"I'm going inside now."

"Naruto…" I stepped back at Sakura's voice. For once, it didn't make me feel anything except anger. But still, Sakura was a good friend of mine, and I didn't want to yell at her when I was this wound up. Instead I laughed, so loud it must have been heard by the entire neighborhood.

"Don't worry about us! We've got like, a two second rebound. We'll be bickering again before you all know it. Well, I'm off! See ya in school tomorrow." I waved to them before jogging up toward my house, my clothes not being the only thing to weigh me down. My thoughts were much heavier, and I couldn't just throw them into the laundry basket. Nor could I scrub them off, which I tried for several minutes in the shower. I sighed and pushed through the steam to dry my body before changing into some sweatpants and a black long sleeved shirt. I wasn't planning on impressing anyone today, so what was the point in wasting jeans? Instead I sat around the house, watching pointless shows and trying to keep my mind off of a certain idiot.

The only thing worse than that day was that night. I growled and jerked my head from the pillow, glaring at the clock that told me it was two am. What the hell was wrong with me? My muscles ached from shoveling, and we had gotten up early enough to make me want to sleep. So why wasn't I going to bed? Apparently my body couldn't understand either, because it continued to make me yawn and close my eyes. Really they were too heavy to stay up, but yet, I couldn't sleep. I had lain in every position I could think of. I tried counting sheep, counting backwards, counting the things I needed to talk about with Kiba and Shikamaru, and counting the reasons I hated counting. I even looked up cures for insomnia after the clock hit three, which apparently was one of the reasons I couldn't sleep. I had no problem chucking it out of the bedroom as soon as I read that clocks can cause a person to stay awake. And for the next couple of days, I tried everything short of Nyquil to get myself to sleep.

"Did a bus run you over on your way here?" But, as you can see by Kiba's oh-so-polite comment, all of it had failed. I grumbled at him while leaning my head on my desk, desperate to find some type of dreamland. It was one of the first times I had made it to school early, since I was awake to hear the alarm go off from the other room. Now that the day had dragged into the final class, I barely had the energy to lift my head.

"I just had trouble sleeping again last night," I answered, instantly jerking my head from the desk to wipe my lips. "Damnit, they cleaned the desks again with that nasty tasting stuff."

"That's because it's not a snack." I rolled my eyes to glance at Shikamaru. Like he could talk.

"You've practically made an indent into your desk because of all the sleeping you do."

"Yea, but I don't put my mouth on it."

"A small miscalculation on my part."

"Wow, you know big words like that? I'm impressed, Kit." I growled as Kiba grabbed my scratched cheek, pulling it. Damnit, why was everyone picking on me today? I reached behind me to make sure nobody had put a 'pick on me' sign on my back. When I felt nothing, I glared to my 'friends' and leaned my head back onto the desk.

"It's been three days since I've gotten more than two hours of sleep. I'm going to go crazy!" Shikamaru sighed loudly next to me, and I could hear him slouching to rest on his arm.

"Another thing you can ask the therapist about today."

"Like I really want his help. He'll make me do some damn test that means absolutely nothing! Like, look at this." I pulled my bag closer to me to pull out the folder of stupid tests Kakashi made us do. Flipping to the last page, I skimmed the questions before picking my selection. "Okay, it says to pick one of these five colors. And this one asks if I prefer dogs or cats. What the hell does that have to do with anything?!"

"Well, maybe it's to get you to open up about your _feelings_," Kiba said, smirking while I glared at him. Lack of sleep and Kiba added together was making a deadly combination. The only thing that saved him was the bell that ran through the room. I sighed and closed the folder, the three of us heading out of the class. Dog-breath got to keep his life for another day. "So Shika, I saw you chatting it up with Temari in the hall today."

"Yeah." I stayed quiet and stared ahead of me, trying to keep my mouth from opening, but it was hard, especially knowing how much Ino liked Shikamaru. "Had to pick another day to work on our project."

"Project?" I asked, looking over to him. He nodded once and stretched his arms over his head. "But we didn't have a project in history, did we?"

"Nope. She's in my literature class too. Some dumb thing about American playwrights who changed literature." My eyes widened a bit in shock and excitement. Did that mean…

"So you didn't go on a date with her Saturday?"

"Nah, she's pretty cool though. Just kind of…"He paused next to his car before shrugging, "demanding."

"So what? You're best friend is like a dictator in a skirt. An especially cute skirt I might add." I glared to Kiba and hit him in the back of the head, only barely catching the slight narrowing of Shika's eyes on dog boy. "Aw come on Naruto, you've gotta admit that Ino's hot."

"Since I value my life, I ain't saying a word. Besides, I've got a therapist to go yell at." I managed to grin despite the feeling of dread that I was getting. Something was definitely going to go bad. Not only did I skip the last question on the second quiz, made Sasuke not come back on Sunday, _and_ beat the crap out of the bastard in my driveway, me and Sasuke hadn't spoken since the fight. And honestly, I was surprised that we didn't get our asses chewed and then kicked out of the school by Tsunade. Maybe Kakashi realized we weren't that bad? Haha…ha.

"See ya when I see ya." Shikamaru barely lifted a hand before moving into his car, Kiba following suit. I watch the two drive off before starting my own trip to the therapist. I hit some traffic (how I hit traffic during a five minute ride I'll never get) and ended up coming a bit later than I planned to. Even with the ten minute lapse, Kakashi was still late. He came into the office a couple minutes after me, which I was thankful for. The silence that was between me and Sasuke was very annoying.

"Oh, so I see you two are back to this again." And apparently, very obvious. Kakashi shrugged and started to pull off his jacked, leaving his finger gloves on. He sat on the edge of the desk, looking between us with the same smile as last week. Seriously, this guy was creepy. "And how did our little experiment go?"

"Hn." Apparently Sasuke was going to be a _real _help today. I rolled my eyes and glared at the wall on the opposite side of the room, also remaining quiet.

"Well, it seems that something happened by the obvious tenseness in both of your bodies. I'm guessing it was straining toward your relationship." Why did he keep calling it that? I was seriously getting pissed off. Well, that, and the fact I was only keeping myself from passing out because I drank three cans of coke before I came here.

"The dobe didn't even last three days."

"You cop-out! " I shouted, growling over at him. If he cared he didn't show it, instead looking up to Kakashi and crossing his arms.

"We did get the paperwork you required done. I'm guessing that is more important than the assignment." He talked like a god damn adult. Seriously, I wanted to squeeze his neck until his head popped off. Maybe then he'd lose some of that hot air between his ears. But I refrained when Kakashi held his hands out, obviously wanting to see the proof in our words. Still glaring at Sasuke, I handed the file over only after he did.

"Yes Sasuke, the questionnaires were important. For now, however, I'm more interested in why the third night didn't happen." He closed his eyes and continued to smile in a way that made me relax a bit. Alright, so he wasn't going to kill us. The first hurdle was done and over with. Feeling slightly risky, I opened my mouth to answer.

"We got into a fight, and I told him to get the hell out of my house." I don't know where he pulled it from, but suddenly a notebook was on the older man's lap while he wrote down what I said.

"And how did that happen?"

"The idiot punched me."

"It-It wasn't my fault though! The teme started it!" He looked at me as if I had just grown two heads.

"I was shoveling out my car."

"Doesn't matter, you started it."

"How?"

"Because you're a friggen jerk, that's how!" I crossed my arm at the logic that seemed perfectly reasonable in my head. I could tell that even Sasuke was having trouble keeping his anger in check by the very faint twitch of his eye.

"Dobe."

"Teme! If you weren't so fucking popular, then maybe I wouldn't have to beat the crap out of you!" Oh damnit, I let the cat out of the bag. I tried to recover, but my mind instantly went blank. It was the opportunity that Kakashi had been waiting for.

"Sasuke, does this involve another person?"

"I don't know. I'd tell you to ask him, but his brain is probably frying from all the words he just spoke." Was it just me, or was Sasuke pretty damn crabby today? Losing the urge to kill him, I moved to sit on my knees as I leaned over the side of my chair to look at his face. Sure enough, the perfect skin was botched by two small black rings under Sasuke's eyes.

"Ha! You haven't been sleeping!" Sasuke blinked once and turned his head to me. It was only then I realized how close we truly were, and unwillingly my cheeks started to flush.

"You don't look too good either, dobe." How had I missed the tired tone in his voice? Seriously, it was practically screaming 'I haven't slept in forever'.

"Now this is an interesting dilemma." We both jerked back to see Kakashi chuckling lowly while staring at us. How he managed to keep both of our gazes was a complete mystery to me. And really kind of creepy. "You two didn't…and this is only an educated guess…sleep next to each other, did you? Because sometimes a person becomes physically and mentally accustomed to sleeping next to someone, and their absence causes a lack of sleep."

"It wasn't like that!" I shouted, glancing between Sasuke and Kakashi. One smiled while the other glared, and I'm guessing you can connect the dots without my help.

"He didn't have the proper sleeping space." Kakashi didn't seem quite so convinced.

"Does he not own a couch?" I actually laughed at his absurd statement.

"Like an Uchiha would ever sleep on a couch."

"If you had the choice of eating a piece of bruised fruit, or fruit with a worm in it, which would you choose?" I stopped at his statement, knowing he was playing one of those weird mind games with me again.

"Don't answer that." I instantly shut my mouth at Sasuke's command while the bastard glared at Kakashi. I really wanted to answer, since it seemed obvious. In fact, the only thing that stopped me was the stare down in front of me between the two. It was like watching a tiger and a lion go at each other. But apparently, even Sasuke was no match for the seemingly innocent therapist in front of us.

"My my Sasuke, I've never seen such a protective dominant before, or, at least, not one in a platonic relationship. Maybe my therapy has been paying off toward your friendship? What do you think?"

"I think you should stop playing games, Kakashi."

"I agree. Games are no fun if you're the only one participating. You need another." Again with the stare. Man, these two were not being friendly. In fact, it was starting to make me a bit uncomfortable. Mainly because I had no friggen clue what they were yapping about. What did worms and games have to do with our therapy session? What happened to the happy go lucky idiot that was our therapist? I mean yea, his smile was still there, and there was no deadly tone in his eyes like Sasuke. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy the encounter. Still, something had shifted in his voice. Even I could tell there was a different air about him. One that made the hair of my arms stand up.

"I hate to burst your weird ass conversation, but I don't plan on staying late today. So can we just look at the damn quizzes and get this thing over with?" Kakashi had no problem tearing his eyes from Sasuke to smile at me. Even that motion seemed weird. I thought the whole idea of being dominant was to keep eye contact? Then why did Kakashi so easily give up that fight?

"My apologies Naruto. Let's look at the second quiz you took, shall we? We'll focus on the other two at our next meeting." I tensed a bit at the sudden reminder of the personality quiz answers. Or rather, the lack of that Kakashi easily found. "So I see that one of the questions wasn't completed."

"We-well yea! Do you honestly expect us to choose who to kiss? That's crazy!" I shouted, glaring while I crossed my arms. Seriously, what was he thinking?

"It's only a question to help your relationship."

"Yeah, if we were gay or something!" And yet still he smiled.

"I'd never assume that, you know. But then again, how are you sure of yourself?" It was at this time I like to think Kakashi lost his mind. Because within seconds he was standing in front of me, barely leaving any space between our faces. My eyes widened in shock and immediately my breathing stopped. It took me a second to realize what he was doing, and I scrambled away from him and onto the top of the cushiony chair. I had to balance my butt a bit on the edge, but it was far better than being that close to Kakashi.

"What the hell was that?! You tried to kiss me!"

"Well, yes. We need to find out the information somehow, don't we? What better way, than to have you kiss one of us, and see how you like it?"

"T-This is against the law! You're going to ge-get sued by Tsunade and me and the teme for sexual harassment!" He laughed as if what I said was a joke. Really, this guy was off of his rocker.

"Tsunade already signed the contract, knowing that my methods of work are a lot more than the average therapist. It's why she picked me you know." He leaned up so his hands rested on the arm rests, coming closer to me. I instinctively swallowed but tried not to pull back. I mean, I had already run once. The practically screamed submissive, didn't it? And here I was trying to prove I could be dominant. Still, anyone would have gotten embarrassed when Kakashi spoke. "Naruto, have you ever experienced a kiss from a male before?"

"I don't have to answer that!" I snapped, glaring. Or, glaring the best I could with a blush the size of mars on my face. I was starting to think I have a rare skin disease that made my cheeks flush.

"Of course not, everything here is optional." Then why was he trying to kiss me?! I wanted to growl and tell him to back off, but I lost all control of the conversation when another voice interrupted us.

"He'd kiss me." Kakashi stared at me for a second longer before turning his head to Sasuke, who was staring directly at Kakashi. He didn't even blink while he spoke. "The idiot is at least six years younger than you, and would feel completely out of place. Because of this he'd automatically become submissive, something he wouldn't accept. I'm his age, where he thinks he has a chance to change the roles. Also, he has known me longer than you. The familiarity is built, whether constructive or destructive. There is no such acquaintance with you. Finally, I'm not a pervert. If he had to kiss me, I'd be able to take it as it was and nothing would change."

I stared at Sasuke in shock. Honestly, there was no other word to describe it. How did Sasuke manage to rattle all of that stuff off the top of his head? Maybe he was smarter than I thought. My cheeks had not lightened in their blush, but probably got worse by the end of his speech. Why was I so nervous about this? Sasuke answered the question for m; I didn't even have to open my mouth. And Kakashi seemed quite pleased, because he pulled back from my chair and moved to sit on his desk again.

"I see some deliberation was done on your part, Sasuke." When Sasuke only glared, Kakashi continued. "And I'll take it that you would prefer to kiss Naruto over myself?"

"If I had to choose." I placed my hand over my stomach, where a slight pain had just flickered. So what if Sasuke didn't _really _want to kiss me? Didn't he say in the explanation that nothing would change in my eyes if we did kiss? I pushed the ill feelings aside to look back up at Kakashi.

"Then our next assignment won't be any trouble." Okay, I did not like the sound of that. And by the slight tensing Sasuke showed, neither did he. "I've noticed something very crucial in your fighting, and probably most of your relationship. You always refer to each other in an insult or some type of jab. It causes hostility between the two of you, and makes it practically impossible for you to get past the fact that you two are 'rivals' of some sort. If we try to take that factor out, I'm guessing you will see much better improvements."

"That's impossible. No matter what happens, he'll always be a teme!" Kakashi laughed at my reasoning, which irked my immensely. I was making a point, not a stupid joke.

"Which is where positive punishment comes in." I blinked once before tilting my head in confusion.

"Eh?"

"There are two types of punishment which can be used to treat a problem. Negative punishment is when you take away a personal item like a game or a computer. Positive punishment is where you add an aversive stimulus in order to stop a bad habit. Normally it is used in law, like giving parking tickets or certain amounts of years in jail. However, it can also be something small. Like, for instance…a kiss."

"A kiss? How the hell can a ki—"

"No." I jumped a bit and glanced to Sasuke, who had cut me off. I narrowed my eyes a bit at the rude movement.

"Hey! I was talking!" He didn't seem to care as he shook his head once.

"No."

"I see you've figured out your next assignment. Really, you're too smart for me Sasuke," Kakashi said, smiling in spite of how annoyed Sasuke looked. He then turned away from the glare --I know, he's pretty gutsy to ignore Sasuke-- in favor of looking to me. "You next assignment is simple. Every time you call Sasuke a 'teme', or Sasuke calls you a 'dobe', you two will have to invoke the positive punishment. Since these two are your favorite insults, it will deter you from using them, and will eventually put a stop to all name-calling."

"I'm not having him stay at my house again," I said quickly, to which he smiled.

"Understandable. Although, from the look on both of your faces, I'd say your fatigue would argue that idea." Stupid therapist and his stupid analyzing. "But you won't be forced to live with each other. Instead, if one of the insults is said, you will share a kiss."

"A kiss…" My eyes suddenly shot wider as I jumped a bit in my spot. Unfortunately, that caused the top of the chair to move, and I was sent over the edge to the ground. The pain momentarily stunned me, but I was quick to recover and get back to my feet. "A kiss?!"

"Yup." He smiled like he had just said we'd won a million dollars.

"How the _hell _is that going to help us!?"

"Because, Naruto, it will force you to stop your insulting. I promise you there's nothing more to this. If you two stop insulting, you won't fight. Fighting leads to silence, which is always very uncomfortable for two people. This silence will cause you to communicate, and therefore understand each other better. Do you follow?"

"I…" I hesitated, slowly glancing over to Sasuke. The guy had fallen quiet after Kakashi had started to speak, and it was creeping me out. Why wasn't he fighting with me anymore? Wasn't he completely against this like, two minutes ago? But apparently, something went haywire in his brain because he was silent and staring at the window in the office.

"Is there a problem, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, cheerful as always. There was a silence in the room as both me and Kakashi waited for his answer.

"No, there…isn't." Maybe the exhaustion was getting to him, because I had never heard Sasuke sound so strange before. His body was completely relaxed, as if Kakashi had not just dropped the biggest bombshell on us. It took a moment for him to realize I was looking at him, but like always he knew what I was thinking. "There's no point in arguing. Either way we'll have to do it."

"And as long as you refrain yourself from insulting on another, you'll have no problems," Kakashi explained, looking to the clock and clapping his hands. "Alright! Well our time is up, but I cannot say this has been a waste. I'm very excited to see how you two deal with your new assignment."

"You're lucky I don't attack you," I muttered, grabbing my sweatshirt while I stormed to the door. I didn't wait for a proper goodbye while I moved; only stopping to shrug on my sweatshirt once the cold became obvious. By the time I had slipped it over my head, Sasuke had made his way out of the office. My hesitation to wait must have been obvious, because he scoffed.

"Keep walking." His command made up my mind.

"Shut up, I can wait if I want." And once he caught up to me, we walked in silence toward the parking lot. I stopped next to my car, leaning against the door while glancing back to Sasuke. He stood in front of me, his normal positioning of his hands shoved into his jeans. Really, why did he stand like that? "Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn." Well, at least he was listening.

"Why did you agree to Kakashi's assignment?" He glanced up at me for a moment of silence before he narrowed his eyes.

"Why haven't you been sleeping?" I felt myself squirm at that. Not wanting the conversation to switch to me, I turned the question around.

"Well…well why haven't _you _been sleeping?"

"Why didn't you tell Kakashi about Sakura?" I tensed at the name. Out of all of the people I _didn't _want to talk about Sakura with, Sasuke was number one. So instead, I tried to think of something else to say.

"I'm not jealous of you!" Alright, so that didn't go exactly how I wanted it. He arched a brow while I stumbled through a weak excuse. "I just don't want you with Sakura…I mean, Sakura with you!"

"You're acting weird." He pressed his finger into my forehead, and I growled at the smirk he sent me. So without thought, my mouth went to default.

"Teme!" The shout rang through the air, which became deadly silent afterwards. His finger fell from my forehead immediately, but the proximity of our bodies was close. Instinctively I glanced to his lips before back to his hard glare. Damnit, when had we gotten so close? And why hadn't I noticed it earlier? Apparently my body was completely accepting of his warmth now, and I felt my fingers twitch next to my side. I almost jerked back at the weird urge to touch him, but I thought better of it. My car was behind me, and Sasuke was in front. Either way, I was going to hit something hard.

"You idiot…" He mumbled, leaning a bit closer. My breath hitched a moment before my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. So when I felt a rush of coldness swell against the front of me, I opened my gaze to see Sasuke walking away. He didn't bother to look back as he spoke. "Don't mess up again."

I nodded dumbly even though I knew he couldn't see my actions. He moved silently to his car, not sparing me another glance while he drove away. I didn't move until the reality of everything hit me. Fuck, me and Sasuke almost kissed! I scrunched my nose while I moved into my truck, trying to shake the thought out of my head.

But even when I drove home, my erratic heartbeat pounded in my ears.

**-Le gasp- Wow! Who knew Kakashi could be so evil?! –looks at all the raised hands- guess…all of you…but I hope that the chapter was fun to read! So Naruto is starting to have mixed feelings, and how will Sakura play into all of this? Will Naruto slip up again, or will…something **_**else **_**happen? –grins- Well you'll just have to see in the next chapter! Review and find out in the fifth installment! –waves- bye till then!**


	5. Denial isn't just a River In Egypt

Well hello! I'm very happy with how many people are actually interested in this story. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So I'm happy to start writing this new chapter! Okay, so I guess I should explain the **fruit thing**, huh? If you understood it, then I guess I'm not such an idiot. But if you didn't sorry! I made it up on my own, and I guess it wasn't as sneaky(or maybe too sneaky) as I wanted. Okay soooo:

Naruto was given the choice of bruised piece of fruit (which is something uncomfortable or at least, not what people pefer) or a worm (a hated pest) in his fruit. So to basically put it in terms of what the underlying meaning was, Kakashi was asking if Naruto had the choice to sleep on an uncomfortable couch, or sleep with a 'pest' he hated, what he would choose. Most people would rather be uncomfortable than sleep with the enemy. Sasuke, however, chose the latter. Therefore implying that Sasuke didn't hate Naruto, and saw him as the better option. Sasuke was able to understand, because he was the one put in the position. Naruto had no clue because…well…he's _Naruto. _And Kakashi was just trying to see how far he could go until Sasuke showed he was uncomfortable. I hope that makes sense now! Sorry about trying to be smart…guess it didn't work –sweatdrops-

Oh, and sorry if the pace is a little slow for some people, because I know that my other stories were quicker. But those were intended one-shots turned bad, and this is an actual story. So once again, it's going to be a little slower pace than the other ones, but it will be a lemon, and there will be some boyxboy action. But please don't try to rush plot to get smut. Thanks a bunch! Okay, now for the thank you page. Thanks to **narutoisuke **for the first comment! Haha cute name, and I'm glad you liked the punishment. Now for all you others! **Friglit **(haha well I'm sure a lot of people didn't like her, but it had to be done)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(haha maybe it _is _a hint…read this chapter and you'll get your answer –winks-)**, Kida-san **(haha well that sure is a very convenient answer! I'm glad that you liked it)**, Itooshii Koneko **(I'm happy that you like the story! Yay for me!)**, Deathangelebz **(ahaha nice, but make sure you get your homework done! I don't wanna get you in trouble, and I'm sure Naru and Sasu wouldn't either)**, Lydia-chan **(aw I'm so happy it makes you smile! And yea, Kakashi is a evilly sweet guy…making our boys realize their feelings haha)**, -Nightly Halo- **(I don't know why they don't just plow the whole damn thing…whatever, I'm glad you like positive punishment! Kakashi may be abusing his power…haha)**, cluelessninja65 **(I'm glad that Kakashi is a likeable character, even if he's a perv! And yea, I like both ShikaIno and ShikaTem, but I like playing around with Ino's character more with Naruto)**, keikopanda102 **(Of course none of us mine, hell you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't sit in anticipation for it! –grins-)**, Searafina **(I really don't know how I do it anymore either…-sighs- but I'm eventually going to have to take a day off to myself…-looks at all my plot bunnies-….eventually)**, moonlightstar1798 **(oh please don't die, I like having people read my story and you seem too nice to die! Haha so here you go)**, jeeniebeenie **(haha I know Sakura is a different part in this one, but I wanted to use her to advance Naruto's feelings…but now I'll fix it! =D)**, XxFirexDance **(haha you are too funny! Speaking of the old pervert, he'll be making an appearance after this chapter!)**, miskie27 **(But it's just funny to watch Naru squirm trying to be a good boy and not say it! Not that it will save him…-winks-)**,blue-nuriel **(yup yup, our little blonde boy is starting to put everything in place! It had to happen eventually, since we're halfway through the story)**, Purpledemon22 **(haha you just wait until they start to realize theres something between them…that little 'punishment' is going to become a great excuse for exploration)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(Mwhahaha! I know, I'm evil. But it'll start to leak out now, don't worry)**, Astharoche **(haha your sister must think I'm making you insane…great –sighs- oh well, I guess I'll accept that)**, ConcealedXdream **(haha yea me too, and since my psychology class is starting to get into memory and stuff, it's going to get interesting!), **The Desiree Incident **(I'm pretty sure Sasuke will make it clear how much sleep he isn't getting and what he plans to do in order to get some back)**, cutsycat **(haha well you know the boys are going to resist the punishment as much as they can, but once they get the ball rolling….kisses will be flying!)**, XxXJTDXxX **(well Sasuke is the genius of the two, he'll think of some way to cure their little…sleeping problem…fun for us!)**, Meiyachi **(Let's just say that it'll be an interesting experiment…)**, Akiru chan **(haha I knew you were going to like Kakashi!! And yea, Naru is going to get a big reality check about these feelings!)**, Yenny **(don't worry, not a lot of people got the fruit thing…I just suck at being smart! Haha)**, Chipfest **(He's Sasuke, he'll never mess up unless he wants to…-hints-)**, Magentadusk **(haha thanks for the sweet review! Now I hope I got this out fast enough for you)**, Pebbles of the sand **(yea Sakura has a purpose, and she explains herself in this chapter. Normally I don't make her bitchy, unless it's for a specific reason like this one! It's all just to make the SasuNaru sweeter –grins-)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha I'd love to have him save me anything…heck I'd throw myself in a fire to get him to save me!)**, DarkestflameUchiha **(aw thank you! When I saw you say die I was like 'epp! I messed up!' but I'm happy you like it!)**, Kittywoman12 **(I think that all the pent up emotion makes his body crave contact when he's sleeping…hence his cuddly nature in my story!)**,Nana-Riiko **(he's so funny, because even when Sasuke thinks hes got the upper hand, Kakashi pulls out something to completely throw the genius off!)**, Cassana-do **(hey, who says they can't ALL be there? That'd just be too much smexiness in one room…-sighs- so hot)**, LovelyNocturnalSungoddess **(haha I'm not that good actually…there are lots who are better! But thanks so much for the sweet review!)**, Sakurananachan **(I have a Sasuke inside of me? –blinks and looks at self- damnit get out here and make smexy love to meeeee! Or at least bring Naruto and be hot together!)**, Kazanari **(of course it should be, but even Kakashi realizes they must be smexi make-out scenes before smexi sex –winks-)**, Nikotehfox **(haha only Naruto could come to the dark side, completely unaware of it, and somehow stay pure!)**, asdf **(if that makes you a perv, I'm…I'm like Kakashi! Haha, I have to be a perv if I think of all of these stories…crap…oh well!)**, DaphneRaynard **( I'm sorry? Uh…-hands coffee- sorry! I promise I'll try not to..uh…write good? Wait, I'm confuzled! Haha but I'm happy you like the story either way)**, gossa **(I tempted with the thought of Kakashi really kissing Naruto, but I didn't want Naruto to have a backlash against being interested in guys because of it haha)**, CoffeeNeurotic **(Yea the apple thing I made up…haha…uh, the definition is above if you want to know what I was thinking, sorry if I suck!)**, Nefarious61 **(Aw thanks so much! I'll try to keep coming with the story, and it shouldn't be too hard since I'm on spring vacation for a week…yay!)**, hollowsmile **(yea I explained the fruit thing at the top, since I kind of made it up…but Naru would have said the bruised one, because worms bug him too….haha but Sasuke seems to like his 'pest' –cough- not a pest –cough-)**, Chiaki Megumi **(haha I don't know why I get reviews…I guess people like me? Bah, maybe they just want sex scenes! Haha and I didn't have em kiss because I'm evvvvvvvvil)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(Queen of the lemons! Haha just kidding. Sakura has a reason, so don't go killing her off yet! Haha don't worry, nothing will stop the SasuNaru!)**, ..wings. **(aw thank you so much! I love reading your reviews because they make me wanna write even more!)**, Manna **(haha you are such a cute reviewer! Especially the end! Haha but I hope this was quick enough for you!)**, HeartofRaven **(aw but you know theres a little part inside of you that is like 'yes Kakashi…be more evil…mwhahaha'. It's okay, embrace it!) **, kat10788 **(yay cookie! –muches- I'm such a dork…=P, I know how you feel about Kakashi, he's a cutie. And Naru is starting to get the hint!)**, zerofangirl **(Gah have I mentioned how I love your reviews? Cause I do! Yea Sakura is evil, but she has a reason! And Kakashi is just always evil, so that's perfectly normaly =P. Sasuke and Naruto are starting to get closer, which is good since it's halfway through the damn story!)**, n o s e c k s **(Sasuke has pride, and he doesn't lie. If he lied to appease Kakashi, he'd feel like he was running away from the assignment. And Uchihas don't run, especially form blonde dobes –smirks-), ** XxMileena-chanxX **(haha omg your review made me giggle. Yes I am evil, and they didn't kiss…but Sasuke makes up for it –winks-)**, Disgruntled Minion **(you're too smart for me, seeing why I made Sakura come in…haha I'm glad that you like the story, and I'm hoping you enjoy this too!)**, kinawa nee-chan **(haha I'm sorry I'm making you wait! But I am human haha, and I'm writing another story too…but heres the fifth chapter!)**, Secludedindarkness **(Aw don't die on me! I promise that I'll keep going and make it good to keep you alive!)**, Inuyasha Fan 2789 **(haha if Naruto has any say in it, they'll never slip up….but he's Naruto, so you know that's not possible)**, Kisa167 **(sorry, but I did! Haha I'm sure that this chapter will make up for it!)

Alright, that was friggen long…thanks for all the reviews, it got me so pumped for this chapter! So here you all are!

**Warning: ****I make fruitbowls. Yup, I got lemons, and limes, and citrus…lots of good sex—uh…fruit…–grins- **

**Disclaimer: ****-Lays on Kakashi's therapy bed- and so then I said 'but why can't I own Naruto?' and then the body guards took me out and threw me on the street….hey, stop reading my damn stories and listen to me! Pervert…**

**De-ni-al isn't just a River in Egypt**

"This is priceless!" I glared at my blonde friend while she moved through my closet, seeming to throw every piece of clothing I owned on the floor. Really, when I said she could come over, I didn't mean she could destroy my room and dress me up like a life-size ken doll. But trying to tell Ino 'no' was like trying to explain why Kakashi was such a pervert. Impossible.

"This is anything but priceless. This is horrible, messed up, sick, twisted, or all of the above. But not _priceless _in the least bit." She seemed to ignore my complaint while she pulled out a black t-shirt, looking between me and the piece of clothing. Finally she sighed and threw it at me.

"You need a shirt to go under that. You got any long sleeved shirts? Preferably white?"

"How the hell should I know? If I do it's gotta be in the top shelf of my bureau. It's where I keep most of my shirts," I mumbled, starting to pull off my top. Really, I didn't see anything wrong with what I was wearing. Apparently, Ino didn't like orange as much as I did. After seeing the double dose between my sweatshirt and shirt, she quickly gave herself the duty to redress me.

"So let me get this straight. You say that the therapist wanted you to answer whether you'd rather kiss him or Sasuke, and you didn't. So for punishment, he's making you kiss Sasuke every time you call him that stupid nickname? And, to make things even more interesting, you haven't been able to get a full night's rest since Sasuke stopped coming over your house at night?"

"It's not like I need him!" I denied quickly, which got me a very unfeminine snort.

"So then there's another, very coincidental and improbable reason for your lack of sleep?"

"Uh…"

"Right, and next you'll be telling me teme's not a nickname…oh! Found it!"

"It's not a damn nickname!" My eyes were covered in white for a second before gravity dropped the long sleeved shirt into my lap. I huffed out in protest of what she was saying while I slipped on the undershirt. "It's to show everyone what a jerk he is."

"Then…why don't you just call him jerk?" She asked, moving over to my bed with her hands placed on her hips. I popped my head out of the hole in the black shirt, tugging down the second shirt to finish her look. I almost yelped when she tugged on my hand, forcing me to stand up for her inspection. She circled around me like I was some mannequin in a shop or something. "Oh wow."

"What?"

"I amaze myself with my style!" She faced me again and winked before nodding in approval. I snorted and returned to my bed to grab my hoodie. Seriously, Ino was very eccentric. Other girls always worried about their hair or how they looked. Ino saw herself for what she really was; a very pretty girl that could do really good in this world if she wanted to. It was mistaken for conceitedness, when really she was just confident. Like how I knew I was hot. I wasn't being cocky; I was secure with my body.

"Alright Ralph Lauren, can we get back to the issue at hand? Like the fact I can't even enter the god damn school without fear of being raped?"

"Raped? Isn't that a little over the top?" Well, probably. But the point had to be made!

"You never know what a kiss could lead to."

"It's Sasuke."

"Yeah, which makes it even more scarring."

"He slept at your house for two days."

"And practically groped me in my sleep!" She blinked once, and it was only then I remembered I hadn't informed her of our sleeping status.

"You slept with him?"

"_Next _to him. Completely different context." She sighed at my correction before looking to the clock, which flashed a bright '7:40' across its screen.

"I want to go farther in this conversation, but we're going to be late for the game you know. It starts in twenty minutes" I bit my lip and mentally cursed. I was banking on Ino not remembering. But then again, she did go to the Friday night basketball games like they were her church meetings.

"Do I have to go? You know _he's _going to be there."

"You can't avoid him forever you know! Eventually you two have to talk, or you'll never get out of therapy." Even though I knew she was right, I didn't want to admit it. Ever since the almost-but-not-really kiss outside of Kakashi's office, I had been avoiding Sasuke like the plague. I had switched seats with Kiba or Shikamaru whenever I had class with him, and then made sure to sprint away from said classroom as soon as the bell rang. If I saw him in the hallways I'd avoid him, or duck into another hallway until he passed. My life was slowly starting to run around the jerk's damn schedule, something that I seriously was getting tired of. And it had only been two damn days!

"But—"

"Not to mention sooner or later you're going to have to get a full night's rest. And the only way to do that is to ask him to sleep over again." Another very good point. One I didn't want to recognize at all, but still good.

"No!" If she heard my refusal she ignored it.

"Plus, he's going to be on the court. It's not like you'll even have time to talk to him. In fact, you can probably get away with not even going near him. It won't seem any more awkward than you barreling into the girl's bathroom to avoid him." I grinned at the memory, but that soon turned into a wince when I remembered how many bruises I had gotten from the girls. Really, couldn't they tell a bathroom creep from a hiding innocent guy? I rubbed the side of my face where one of the girls had decked me with her purse. What the hell did girls hold in their purses anyways? Bricks?

"But still! Can't we just go to a movie or something? We can even pretend we're lovers and snuggle into each other while we mow down on popcorn." At my suggestion she rolled her eyes and pursed her lips defiantly.

"No way, Naruto. I go to every home game there is, and I don't plan to miss one just because of your weird therapist. Plus, don't you think he'll get mad if you avoid Sasuke the entire week? This way you can say you two were at the basketball game and didn't argue once. It's not lying, just bending the truth a little." She paused in her statement before she leaned forward, giggling while she tapped my nose. "Besides, I'm too cute to date you anyways."

"Hey! Weren't you the one who said I was the 'cutest thing you'd ever seen'?" I raised my voice to do a impersonation of Ino that truly sounded nothing like her. Eh, I tried. And the affect was right, because she laughed and pressed her forehead to mine. Even though Ino was hot, I never really saw her as a girlfriend. She was more like an older sister that I had always wanted. She was very protective of her friends, and she would get angry with me whenever I'd let myself start to fall back into the darkness of my childhood. In fact, the first year we were friends, she'd always get upset over how insecure I was. If anyone could be blamed for my confidence, it was the blondie in front of me.

"You _were _the cutest thing. Then you just got all old and hot." She pinched my cheek before moving away from me, grabbing her keys and purse. "Now hurry up, the first toss up is the most important."

"The only reason you're dragging me is because you're trying to avoid Shikamaru, aren't you?" She froze in her step at the lazy boy's name, confirming my thoughts. Seriously, Ino had a one set mind. Even though I had continuously told her that Shikamaru was not on a date with Temari, she refused to talk to or go near our friend. But I still tried to reason with her. "You know, he probably misses talking to you."

"I don't care." At her almost childish pout, I sighed. And people said I was the immature one?

"It wasn't a date though. Him and Temari are just friends."

"Like that matters! He took his 'partner' out for a dinner date. He's never taken me anywhere though! If Shikamaru really missed me as much as you say he does, he would ask me out to dinner too."

"But it's _Shikamaru. _You know how lazy he is."

"Not lazy enough to ignore dinner with Temari." It was the same conversation we had every time Shikamaru was mentioned. Why I even tried, I wasn't sure. Probably because Ino kept dragging me to the things she used to drag Shika to, and Shikamaru seemed even more unmotivated than usual.

"What if I told you that Shikamaru is meeting us at the game?" Her eyes widened and I knew to cover my ears before she started to scream.

"What do you mean he's going to be at the game?! Did you invite him or something?!" Even with my hands covering my ears, they still buzzed from the roar Ino let out.

"No! Not…not exactly." I was quick to cover myself when she glared at me. "I said that you were dragging me to the game and he told me that he'd save us some seats!"

"Who is he going with?" She asked, narrowing her eyes while she spoke. Seriously, girls could be scary when they were angry.

"He didn't say he was going with anyone. I think he's just going because he knows that a certain jealous blonde will be there." She instantly started to blush at my comment, which made me grin. These two really needed to get over themselves and just hook up. They had been like this ever since I met them! In fact, I made the mistake of calling Ino Shikamaru's girlfriend the first time I saw them together. Ino quickly set me straight with a couple hard hits to the head.

"I'm not jealous!" Even though I tried, I couldn't help but laugh at her comment.

"Yeah and I'm not in love with ramen."

"If you don't get into my car in five seconds, I'm going to tie you to the top of it and use the highway to get to school!" I yelped and scurried my way out of the room, the brooding girl stomping her way behind me. When Ino got mad, she was a force to reckon with. Even Sasuke would have trouble dealing with her. So I didn't think twice to practically jump into the passenger seat of her car while she huffed and started the ignition. The seatbelt became my new best friend when she peeled out of my driveway. "And honestly, getting jealous over someone like him! Why would I? He's just lazy! Stupid Shikamaru and his stupid laziness…not lazy enough to take Temari places though…only lazy for Ino..."

"Please slow down," I whimpered out. Yeah, that's right, _whimpered_. I was lucky not to be pissing myself at the speed she was going. Maybe the reason I needed to get Ino and Shikamaru back together was for the safety of Konoha! As it was, it only took us three minutes to get to the school (and normally it takes me about ten). She slammed her car door and barely let me get out of my seat before I was being dragged toward the doom that was the gym. She only stopped when we reached the line, which now circled one side of the building. Good, it gave me time to try and cool down Ino before she spotted Shikamaru and killed him. "Ino—"

"What does Sasuke think of this anyways?" I blinked slowly when Ino turned to look at me. What the hell? Her once livid features were scrunched in confusion. "About your deal?"

"Where did that come from?" I asked slowly, to which Ino shrugged.

"I'd rather deal with your issues than mine right now. As far as I'm concerned, there is no Shikamaru in my life." Girls sure could get stubborn. I wanted to argue about how crazy she was being, but then I realized that that might set her off again. The last thing I needed was for my friend to get wheeled off for insanity. Or murder.

"Sasuke just let Kakashi do it. They fought over some stupid crap, and then Sasuke rolled over like a damn dog!" Ino found some type of humor in my words, and laughed after I pouted.

"So Sasuke's okay with you two kissing?" I tripped a bit in our walking at her question, glancing around us to make sure nobody heard her. As it was, the fangirls were already giving me glares every time I passed one in the hallways. I swear they planted tape recorders in all of Sasuke's boxers.

"Don't say that out loud! Like I want the entire school to know about this damn thing!" I hissed, glaring while she continued to giggle. This was _not _funny.

"I'm sorry, but I never thought I'd see the day Sasuke would agree to actually kiss someone. Who knew you'd be the one to bring out the romantic side of him." I knew I flushed, but prayed the darkness of the night would hide it from my laughing companion.

"S-Shut up! This i-isn't about romance or shit like that! Kakashi's just a damn pervert, and Sasuke's a te—grr…he's just stupid!" I crossed my arms and glared away from her, trying to erase the word 'teme' from my head. But damnit, it was hard. I never realized how many times I used the insult until I couldn't use it. As it was, I had almost said it three times in the past two days. And one of those times, it was in a class that Sasuke was in! The last thing I needed was to shout that particular word out for everyone to hear. Especially knowing the bastard couldn't break the rules if his life depended on it.

"Hey Naruto, I never knew you could get so red." I instantly tensed at her teasing, and it was only then I realized we had moved close enough to the open doors of the gym for the light to shine on my face. I shoved her away from me, which probably wasn't a good way to try and hide the fact I was still blushing. Damnit, why did Sasuke do this to me?! As soon as I was done with this therapy, I was so kicking his ass! "You kind of look like Hinata when you blush like that."

"It wasn't a blush. It's just hot."

"It's only like, twenty degrees out." Nobody wanted to give me a break.

"Then its frostbite from standing out in a line I didn't even want to be in to begin with!" I felt her arm pull my waist to her side, and I looked down to the shorter girl's soft smile. I pressed my lips tighter for a moment to suppress the embarrassed look I knew was still there before I spoke. "W-what now?"

"Do you have a man-crush on Sasuke?"

"…"

"Naruto?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I WOULD NEVER LIKE AN ASSHOLE LIKE SASUKE!!" I panted after my loud scream, not caring that people were slowly backing away from me in the line. Ino had covered both of her ears, and glared up at me once she realized I was done.

"You don't have to be so defensive. I was just kidding," she grumbled, trying to pop her ear with her finger. I decided it was better to pout and ignore her than explain my sudden outburst. I did _not _like Sasuke. He was a total jerk, and I would never see why anyone would ever want to date him. So what if he looked good in anything he wore? And his intelligence was practically unheard off? So what he was the co-captain of the undefeated basketball team with Neji? That he had been voted both homecoming and winter ball king? That he smelt insanely good, and he was extremely warm in bed…that he wasn't always so cold, and his eyes could show vulnerability behind that perfect façade…and his fingers were able to cause my spine to cu—

Gah. No! I didn't like Sasuke! He was a teme and a guy. Two traits that I never looked for.

"For someone who says he doesn't like Sasuke, you sure stare at him a lot." I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Ino's voice, and blinked once to realize my eyes were staring toward the middle of the basketball court where the team was practicing. How the heck did we get in here so fast? Dumbly I looked down to my hand, where a red and white ticket had been placed showing my purchase for the game. When did I buy this? Ino must have seen my slight confusion because she squeezed the hand she was holding and continued to pull me up the bleachers. "And you owe me ten bucks."

"Shit these things are expensive." She laughed at the first ramble that came through my mouth, and I finally collected the rest of my brain to look around. There were a lot of people that came to these games.

"Hey! I see Sakura!" I perked up and looked over Ino's shoulder to see Sakura waving at us from a few rows down. I could practically feel the pout Ino was giving off when she noticed the lazy boy that sat next to the waving girl. "And she had to sit with Shikamaru."

"I thought you didn't know anyone named Shikamaru?" I didn't give her time to answer while I laughed, pulling her through the crowd to get to our friends. "Hey guys!" Shikamaru took one look at me and sighed.

"Even my desk didn't help you sleep…always makes me tired."

"Oh shut up Shika," I muttered, turning to look at the other bench warmer. Sakura looked extremely cute today. Her hair was pulled back a bit into a butterfly clip, her bangs gently hanging in front of her face. She wore a light pink sweater, with a white skirt that skimmed just around her thighs. I could feel myself smile at how cute Sakura really was. She'd really be the perfect girlfriend!

"Hey Ino, Naruto," She greeted, brushing back her bangs back a bit and smiling.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" I forgot my hand was still in Ino's embrace when I jerked it up to wave, causing the blonde to smash into my back. Luckily I was able to catch both of us before we fell, deciding it was better to sit down as the players started to get onto the court. "You look _really _pretty today."

"Don't feed her ego," Ino said playfully, and the girls exchanged looks of amusement.

"Well you're pretty dressed up too you know. Planning on going somewhere?" I glanced back to Ino, not noticing till now the tan dress pants and lilac turtle neck sweater she was wearing. Ino shrugged casually and brushed her pants off while she got comfortable on the bleacher.

"Maybe I am. What about you?" Sakura shrugged and glanced out to the court, where now only the two teams' captains stood with the referee. I snuck a glance toward our team captains (because Neji was my friend and I came to root him on) before back to the pink haired girl. I slightly frowned when I noticed her eyes were focused on a certain black haired asshole.

"Actually, I'm going out to a quiet dinner tonight with someone." My eyes widened a bit at her casual shrug, and unwillingly my mouth opened.

"With who?" She blinked once at my voice and turned to me, her eyes catching mine. I saw her glossed lips gently open before shutting again, her fingers sliding her bangs back. It was a sign of hesitation or nervousness, according to status play. Maybe this status thing came in handy.

"Nobody you should worry about Naruto!" She tried to play the situation off as nothing, which we found out was much easier than she thought once Shikamaru spoke.

"Sasuke invited me to join him and some girl for dinner. He told me to invite whoever I wanted." I saw the color drain from Sakura's face, and somehow the sick side of me wanted to smile. So much for her 'quiet dinner'. I quickly frowned and looked down at my lap in confusion. That wasn't right. Sure I always felt a little bit better when Sasuke turned Sakura down, but that was because it meant I had a better shot at her. Since when did it turn into something else? My feelings were all screwed up. I swallowed weakly and shook my head to focus on the conversation at hand.

"Since when did you and Sasuke become friends?" He shrugged and turned his gaze back to whatever was happening on the court.

"Well, you kept making me switch seats. And since you didn't tell Uchiha why, I had to make something up. Then it just…I don't know…happened."

"Why aren't you sitting with Sasuke anymore?" Aw crap. I scratched the back of my head and I turned my attention back to Sakura, who I had unconsciously kept lost in the dark about the bet. Then again, I didn't exactly want to tell her that at any given moment, I may end up kissing her prince charming.

"You know me and the…the jerk, he's always being a pain in the ass." I heard Ino giggle behind me at my near slip up, and I sent a slight glare over Sakura's shoulder when Shikamaru smirked. Damn them! I knew I shouldn't have told them anything. But I needed to get Shikamaru to switch with me, and he wouldn't budge from his 'traditional sleeping spot' unless there was a good reason. So, I gave him one.

"Well I hope you apologize to Sasuke soon! Honestly, your childish fighting with him has gone on way too long." Sakura gave me a stern look that clearly stated whose side she would take if it ever came down to a fight between me and Sasuke. No matter how hard I tried to catch Sakura's eye in a romantic light, she never even gave me the time. I had to admit that it was starting to bother me in a way that it never had before. I used to be content with her denials, because I was sure that one day she'd stop chasing Sasuke and come to me. But now, it didn't really seem quite so possible to me. Or important. What changed all of a sudden?

"Oh! The games about to start!" Ino said next to us, drawing my attention from Sakura to look at the ball toss. Neji easily passed it to one of their teammates, and just like that the game begun. I never truly watched basketball, mainly because it made me want to jump in and join. The only reason I didn't bother to play was because I had to work four days a week at the restaurant. Even though Jiraiya had enough waitresses to cover the shifts, he always liked to have me up his sleeve if a group of girls came in together. Nothing made better tips than using the opposite sex and a few charming smiles. And the tips were definitely worth being gawked at.

Still, this game held my interest. The skill that our team had was amazing. It didn't take long for them to pull in front of the opposing team by a good ten points. My eyes darted along the court as I watched the ball being handled with grace that most guys couldn't hold to save their lives. But, of course, what most anyone else couldn't do, Uchiha Sasuke could. I couldn't take my eyes off him, and how he seemed to fit in an environment I'd never pick for him. The Sasuke I knew always had his nose in books, or unconsciously working on something in school that made himself more popular. But seeing him shift past the guards to score another two points in the game made my breath hitch. Don't ask me why, because I don't know.

"Alrighty folks! It's halftime, and Konoha leads, 45 to 33." The loud announcer's voice drifted through the speakers hooked up near the door, which seemed to irritate anyone in the vicinity. Luckily our seats weren't too close to be bothered.

"Hey guys, you want something? I'm going to grab some candy down at the snack stand," Ino offered, and instantly I nodded at the mention of food.

"Do you think they'll have ramen?!" I heard Sakura laugh next to me, and a part of me warmed at the sound. I looked back at the pink haired girl, who rolled her eyes through her smile.

"Do you eat anything else Naruto? Sasuke-kun always says that's going to kill you one day." At the mention of the basketball star, I crossed my arms and scoffed.

"Like I'd ever listen to him. I bet it cures cancer and he doesn't even know it." Both girls laughed at my statement, which meant they probably didn't realize I was telling the truth. But I ignored it and looked back up to Ino. "But I guess I should save some room for dinner tonight."

"So you're coming then?" Shikamaru asked, and instantly I watched Ino turn her head from the brunette.

"If there's food, you know I'm there!" I could tell Ino was still stubbornly trying to ignore Shikamaru's question, so I nudged her leg a bit. "What about you Ino? You want to grab a bite to eat with us?"

"I'd love to go with you Naruto. I'm glad _someone_ asked me to dinner." And with that, Ino made her way down the aisle of the bleachers. I watched her for a minute before turning back to Shikamaru. The guy was scratching the side of his head as he watched Ino, seeming completely thrown off by her coldness.

"What's her problem?"

"She's upset about Temari," I said, deciding that cupid had really shitty aim when it came to my group of friends. Well, if the little cherub wasn't going to do it, I'd just have to fill in for the time being. "She wants you to ask her out to dinner."

"Why?" I mentally groaned at the lazy boy across from me. Seriously, when was this intelligence supposed to show?

"Because she likes you! Ino's been crazy for you since I've known her." Seemed like Sakura saw the same obvious connection between the two that I did, because she sent him a knowing look. "And when you went out to dinner with another girl, especially a blonde, you completely crushed her."

"What does Temari's hair have to do with this?"

"It's a girl thing. We see it as you're dating someone like us, because they have the same hair color," Sakura said, shrugging.

"Either way, you have to talk to Ino. Otherwise you'll _both _be unhappy!" I added. He stared at the two of us for a minute, finally letting his gaze float back to the court when the quick halftime started to end.

"Troublesome girl." After that, he stayed quiet. Ino came back with some gummy worms that she happily shared with Sakura and me, and continued to ignore Shikamaru. Occasionally I'd see them glance toward each other, and yet neither said a word. This was going to get old really fast. In fact, I was so concentrated on the two of them that the end of the game came before I even knew it. The loud buzzer signaled another win for our team, and we jumped up with the rest of the stands to cheer. Well, 3/4ths of our group did. One just sighed and watched us jump around.

"Aren't you glad you came?" Ino asked, gently nudging my ribs with her elbow. I laughed and shrugged, not wanting to admit I had fun.

"I guess so. Hey Shika, where the heck are we grabbing food anyways?" I leaned back a bit to look at Shikamaru, who stood and yawned. I was half surprised he didn't fall asleep during the game.

"Central Café, down in the middle of town." I nodded at the information before blinking when the pink hair girl scooted past me.

"Now where are you going?"

"To congratulate the team of course!" She looked back at me and smiled before hopping into the aisle. Quickly she ran her fingers through her bangs while she made her way toward the court. Well, at least she tried to let me down easy. Too bad I already knew where (or I guess I should say _who_) she was heading to before she even stepped toward Sasuke, which made me glance over to Ino and smile. A phony one, of course.

"Hey I'm going to go grab some fresh air okay? I'll meet you out there or something!" I didn't let her see my clenched fists when I moved past the people that were excitedly running down to cheer with the team. She'd probably want to go join them, since this was a big deal. Our team was now secured a spot in the playoffs. Sure they still had a few weeks to get there, but it didn't make the excitement of being secure wind away. I could still hear the faint cheering while I moved into the parking lot, shoving my hands in my pockets. I mentally scoffed when I realized I was acting like Sasuke. For a moment we switched roles I guess. He was surrounded by people and was standing in the middle of a crowd, knowing that everyone around him didn't know a damn thing about him. And here I was, alone in the dark with my hands in my pockets and desperate to hide any feelings of jealousy or anger I felt. If suppressing feelings was as hard for him as it was me, then the bastard was stronger than I thought.

"You know, emo doesn't suit you." I paused in my walking before I lifted my head, blinking once when I saw my blonde haired friend smiling at me.

"What the heck are you doing out here?" She rolled her eyes as if it was the dumbest question she had ever heard.

"You really think I was going to just let you walk out like that? You were practically glowing in anger. That stupid fake smile may work on some people, but I know you Naruto!" From the way she was staring at me, I could tell she was upset for me even trying to fake it.

"Sorry," I sighed out, watching the white smoke float into the air before disappearing.

"Green really is your color. Not everyone call pull it off. I mean, I must look ugly when I turn green." Huh? I titled my head and she laughed while leaning against the side of the school. Hesitantly I joined her, staring out at the parking lot and waiting for her to explain. "What I mean is…even when you're jealous, you look hot."

"Thanks…uh, I guess? You know Ino, your way of explaining things is pretty messed up." She giggled at that before leaning her head onto my shoulder, something that always seemed to relax me. Maybe it was the fact that someone actually felt safe enough to touch me without being dared to.

"He doesn't like her you know."

"Who?"

"Sasuke…isn't that what this is all about?" Yeah, Sasuke was a part of it. I felt my eyes close halfway when something in my stomach twitched at the name.

"I know he doesn't. I kind of got the idea from all the times he said no to her. Plus, if he wanted to get with her, he wouldn't have hinted at Shikamaru going on their…_date_." Blah that sounded wrong on my tongue. Since when did Sasuke date anyways? I hadn't seen him with a real girlfriend in the four years I knew him! Who said he could randomly change that up now? I narrowed my eyes a bit at the thought. "Stupid Sasuke!"

"Stupid Sasuke? Or…stupid feelings _for _Sasuke?"

"Both!" I snapped out, only realizing afterwards what I said. The lack of sleep was getting to me. I looked over to Ino quickly to rephrase what I said (though I really hadn't thought of anything to replace it with) but she held up her hand and smiled.

"Do you like Sasuke?"

"No! I told you before, I don't like him!"

"Naruto." Damnit, I was blushing. And from the shocked look on Ino's face, it was apparent she could see it. I glanced away, completely uncomfortable with the situation. How had all of this happened? For four years, if someone had even hinted at the idea of me liking the asshole, I would have kicked their asses. Not only was I completely infatuated with Sakura, but Sasuke was just a teme that I had hated from the day I met him. And yet now, I stood in front of Ino, semi-flustered over the same guy. My feelings for Sakura were fading quickly, and I couldn't tell why. She was still beautiful to me. Heck, sometimes her voice still made a goofy grin come to my face. But…I didn't feel head over heels for her anymore. It was like somehow, I was becoming grounded again. Her smile didn't make my heart accelerate, and my mouth never got dry around her like it used to. I had changed somehow. And no, I didn't like it.

"I…we…this is all Kakashi's fault!" At my sudden outburst, Ino simply smiled and moved forward to hug me. Physical comfort always seemed to calm me down.

"Well, I guess we should add another problem to the 'S subject' system." I couldn't help but pull back a bit to tilt my head. At the furrowed brows I gave her, she let out a slight giggle. "Sexual orientation."

"Ino!" Her laugh came out in a flood while I shook my head, trying to deny her accusation. "You really are a blonde! I'm straight!"

"Straight like a boomerang maybe." She was just asking to be put on my hit list. Wait, was she already on it? Crap, I couldn't remember. Well either way, she was on it now!

"You're such a pain in the ass," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Just because I found ou—" I looked over her shoulder and wasted no time covering her mouth with my hands, trying to smile when three pairs of eyes finally found us. My voice got stuck in my throat when I glanced to Sasuke, who had changed into a pair of black (how the _heck _did he get into those damn thing?!) jeans, and that same blue jacket he always wore. Still, something about his attitude made the entire ensemble strangely attractive.

"Hey guys! We were uh…waiting for you!" I turned Ino to face them, keeping my hands on her mouth to keep her from saying anything idiotic. This, of course, got one lazy sigh, one pair of widened eyes, and one arched eyebrow.

"Is there a particular reason you're trying to suffocate Ino?" I looked down at Sasuke's question to see Ino practically clawing at my hand. Did I cover her nose too? From the way she gasped for air after I pulled my hand back, I got my answer.

"Uzumaki…" I shrunk back at the threat in her voice, instantly laughing in an attempt to save my life.

"It was an accident! I was just testing your lungs! And a demon took over my body!" And if any of you thought any of the three excuses saved me, you are sadly mistaken. I sat at the table and hour later with several bumps and bruises, and everyone seemed perfectly fine with my punishment while they finished their food. I whined at the abuse I didn't _technically _deserve, but nobody paid attention.

"This place has the best pizza!" Sakura said, giggling when she glanced up at Sasuke and smiled. "Had you ever eaten here before, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes." His reply was both short and a conversation ender, which seemed to bother Sakura by her frown. I rolled my eyes and leaned on one of my arms, ignoring the tenderness of my cheek. Man, Ino hit hard.

"Well aren't you a barrel of fun. We should make you do kid parties and make a profit." He didn't turn his head to me, but I could see his eyes shift to look at my grin.

"Says the clown." I scoffed, pushing up to glance at the bastard next to me.

"Whatever jerk." I felt proud of my memory, my inner Naruto dancing around in my head. So maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as I thought. Ino was right; I didn't _have _to use teme. I just had to find good substitutes that were short and to the point.

"That was a really good game Sasuke. The team qualified for the play offs and everything," Ino said, Sasuke nodding slowly. "I heard that there's a new team in the division that's doing really good as well. We haven't played them yet."

"I wouldn't be worried. Neji's good at creating evasive plays until he's able to figure out their weaknesses. That's why he's co-captain," Shikamaru replied lazily while he popped the last of his crust into his mouth.

"Yeah, who know Hyuuga was that good at basketball? Remind me to get some tips from him," I said, nodding. Just because I stayed off the team didn't mean I stayed off the courts. Me and Kiba were known to randomly throw together teams and battle it out on the courts outside of the school. Speaking of dog-breath… "Hey Shikamaru, where the heck is Kiba?"

"He had to help his mom clean all the dogs at the shelter." I nodded, remembering his job took over a lot of his time. Whenever he wasn't hanging out with me and Shikamaru, Kiba worked at the Konoha animal shelter with his mom. It was a pretty good paying job, and Kiba got the perk of walking the puppies in the park. He said he got at least two numbers and MySpace accounts each time he did. Lucky bastard.

"Well I've gotta show him that weird behind the back pass Neji was doing all game. Imagine how pissed the other team would get if we pulled that trick from nowhere."

"Why don't you just ask Sasuke-kun? I'm sure anything Neji can do; Sasuke-kun can do as well. I mean, he is the best player on the team."

"That's not necessarily true. Neji and Sasuke both had around the same amount of points this game," Ino said, making my head bob at the frowning girl in front of me.

"Besides, did you see all the steals Neji had? Way more than Sasuke! If I had to judge, I'd say Neji was the better player." I glanced over to Sasuke when I sipped on my soda, smirking a bit when I noticed his glare. For some reason, it made my soda taste twice as good.

"But Neji also missed more shots. Accuracy goes to Uchiha." Apparently even Shikamaru was interested in the conversation, and it didn't please Ino one bit. Whatever she was planning to say was instantly muted. I mentally sighed, knowing the only reason she didn't speak up was because it would imply she was answering to Shikamaru.

"Did you want to say something Ino?"

"I was just going to say that Neji's the better play maker. Almost all of the plays were created or influenced by him. That's gotta mean something."

"Yeah, that he's a better _coach_. But Sasuke-kun is faster too, which makes him a more essential part of the team."

"What's the point of being fast if you can't think of any way to use it? Brains beats speed."

"Coming from an idiot like you, that doesn't mean a thing." I glared over to Sasuke, only to realize he hadn't moved his gaze from me. Whatever soda was left I swallowed quickly, needing it to moisten my mouth. Trying to act casual I looked over to the window to observe the great view of dead grass and snow. But really, knowing he had been looking at me the entire time was a little nerve wrecking.

"Either way, I still think Sasuke-kun is the best player." Of course she did. Then again, she'd say that even if we were comparing him to Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. I stirred my straw in my cup to keep my mind off the unexplained irritation while I listened to the group talk about pointless things. Really, I was more interested in why the bastard was staring at me. Probably because I dared to stand up to the great Uchiha Sasuke. Chea right, as if I didn't do that every day of my life. And so what if I thought Neji was better? Not like I said he was _bad_, I just said he wasn't the best. So sue me.

But any bothering thoughts fled my head when Ino brought up my favorite part of the Central.

"So are we getting dessert?"

"Hell yes we are!" I already had my finger on the strawberry shortcake dessert, glancing up at Ino and smiling. "Wanna split it?"

"You really have the bottomless stomach don't you?" She asked, smiling as she rested her head in her hands. I could only shrug and drool at the picture on the menu.

"Hey Shika, are you gonna get your boring vanilla ice cream again?" The shrug I got confirmed my guess. The kid really wanted to just blend in with everything. If we weren't careful, someone could mistake him for dead and load him into a coffin. And even if Ino was mad at him right now, she'd certainly get over it fast in that scenario. Hmm…

Nah, too risky.

"What are you going to get Sakura?" In looked up at Ino's question, but Sakura was too busy reading something on her phone to notice. After a minute she sighed and slapped the phone shut, glancing around the table in frustration.

"I have to go guys; my mom's making me come home early since I have to work in the morning."

"You can't even stay for dessert?" I asked, scowling when she shook her head. It was then she turned her gaze to me, and I blinked at the strange look she was giving.

"Naruto, would you walk me to my car?" The table fell completely silent, myself included. What the heck? Why wasn't she asking Sasuke to bring her over? I was almost positive she would use it as an opportunity to get some alone time with him. But she seemed to ignore my shock while she slid from the booth, and I clumsily stood to follow her.

"I'll uh…order for us Naruto!" I could tell without looking that Ino was concerned, and I guess I couldn't blame her. After all, I remembered the last time Sakura wanted to talk to me. Really, I didn't want a repeat. So I blew into my hands and stayed quiet as we walked through the slightly deserted parking lot toward her dark red sedan that sat next to Ino's car. Neither of us said a word until she let the beep of her starter shake us out of whatever silence we were in.

"When'd you get the new car starter?" I asked, watching her lean against the side of the car.

"My dad bought it for me on Christmas, since my old one gave out a little while ago," she said, continuing my small talk. Whatever she was planning to say was something she needed time to prepare for. That made me rethink my willingness to come out with her.

"That's cool I guess. Jiraiya doesn't help me with shit. My car could blow up and he'd probably just laugh." This whole 'shooting the breeze' thing really got annoying when you were freezing your ass off. But I wasn't going to rush whatever Sakura wanted to talk about. From the constant brushing of her fingers along her lips and cheeks, I knew something was bothering her.

"Naruto…" I watched her inhale slowly while she turned to me, a sad look overtaking her emerald eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Yes. I…I shouldn't of asked you a date idea for Sasuke-kun. I mean, I shouldn't have let myself be a coward." If she kept biting her lip, she was going to gnaw right through it. Quickly I moved forward, placing my hands onto her cheeks and making her look up at me. The part of me that still jumped at her name instantly moved my thumb along the bottom lip to get her to release it. Maybe I was blushing. Maybe it was just cold. For once, I wasn't embarrassed.

"What do you mean coward? You're no chicken; you're just completely love-struck with the asshole for some odd reason." I could feel her lip tremble through her weak laugh, and I easily slid my hands back from her face. In the past, maybe I would have kept that contact. A part of me still wanted to. A small part.

"That's not what I meant. When I asked you about the movie I just…Naruto, you're a really good guy. You're really energetic and funny, even if you can get a little annoying at times. I'm really happy that I met you. Glad that we became friends." Her hands felt warm, and I looked down at the grasp she had on my hands. Girls were always warmer than guys for some reason. Like they had a fire built in them or something. "And…and that's why I wanted to tell you that…that I can't see you in a romantic kind of way."

"Sakura?" I knew she heard me, because she squeezed my hands at her name.

"It's like you're my brother. So when you keep complimenting me and trying to convince me to go out with you, it hurts. I don't want to be mean or flirt with Sasuke-kun in front of you, but I don't know how else to make you stop liking me. Ino said that I took it too far that day; she was really upset with me. And to…to be honest, I was too. B-But I didn't know how else to get you to listen to me. Whenever I tell you to stop, yo-you just smile and wave it off. I don't want to hurt you bu-but…but…"

Sakura's body jerked a bit, and it was then I realized that she was about to cry. I knew I was tense, because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. Anger and sadness I guess. Maybe I should have been the one crying. And yea, I did feel a bit lost. What else would you feel when you finally realize that not only is there no chance for you to end up with the first girl you loved, but that your heart had already accepted that without your mind's consent? I saw a line of water gently slid down her cheeks, and in no time I pulled her into me. I was the brother, right? For some reason, I felt okay with that role now. I pressed the side of my head against hers and smiled sadly when I felt her crying. Sakura was really upset with herself, and the thought made me see how important this was to her. How long had she wanted to tell me this? And how long did my stubborn heart push her warnings away? She wasn't the coward. I was.

Or, had been. Because somewhere, I had unconsciously realized what I didn't want to. Sakura was the perfect girlfriend; I had said it hundreds of times in my head. But that didn't mean she was right for me. What's the point of having someone perfect if they don't want you? In all of my dreams of wanting to be with Sakura, I never took into account what would happen if she didn't want to be with me. So now, while I felt Sakura sobbing into my chest, I knew what would happen. I'd accept it, and continue to be the friend that Sakura had wanted me to be. I wasn't a kid anymore. Feelings were feelings, and we couldn't fight them or change them. I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head against hers.

"Stop crying over things you can't change," I mumbled next to her ear, which made her pull her head back in shock. Smiling was much easier than either of us expected, and I laughed even quicker than I smiled. "So you don't like me then. I guess some other guy is going to have to deal with your mood swings and bad hair days."

"I-Its...not that bad…" she sniffled a bit as she wiped her eyes with her palms to dry the tears.

"You look like medusa back for revenge," I teased, which got me a soft knock of the head with her hand.

"Naruto!"I closed my eyes at the touch, feeling the last bit of pain start to dissolve. So I wasn't meant to be with Sakura. I guess I could live. Besides, with everything else going on in my life, having a girlfriend would probably just mess everything up even more. Finding more reasons than I needed to let go of Sakura, I turned my gaze back to the quiet girl in front of me. I stared at her for a moment, her eyes still as pretty as they were when I first met her. No matter what feelings I had for her, Haruno Sakura would always be pretty.

"Hey, make me a promise."

"A promise?" She asked quietly, blinking when I took her hand and curled every finger but her pinky. My grin must have been wide, because I could feel it in my cheeks.

"I know that you're 'in love' with Sasuke. Kind of like I was 'in love' with you. And who the hell knows who the asshole is in love with—"

"Naurto! Don't call him that!"

"Alright alright, nobody knows who the teme wants." I probably would have felt a little more panicked about letting the insult slip if not for the fact that this conversation was so important. "Just…don't just look at Sasuke with these eyes."

"Huh?" At her confusion, I tapped next to her left eye with my pinky before bringing it to rest in front of hers.

"You told me today I was always pushing away the words you were practically trying to shove down my throat. Well…and don't hit me for this, because I'm saying this as your 'brother' or whatever the hell my role is now in your life…try to listen to what the jerk is saying to you."

"I…" She was scared to make that promise. We both knew what was really being said here. I was giving up on Sakura because she couldn't be forced to love me. And in return, I wanted her to realize that Sasuke wasn't in love with her either. I didn't mind holding her again when she started to sob. Heck, I reached for her before the first tear fell. I guess I was pretty good with this hugging thing, because she didn't want to let go for a while. She just wanted to hold onto this fake reality for a few more minutes. Her mom was probably going to kill her, and Ino had probably eaten all of my dessert by now. But it was worth it when a soft pinky hooked around mine and shook it in a silent promise to finally open our eyes.

I helped her into her car, and made a few more jokes to get her to laugh again. I kissed her on the forehead; it wasn't intimate, but reassuring. There was no blush between us, because we both knew it wasn't intended to be romantic. I just wanted her to feel comforted. Nothing was worse than going home upset. Then again, she had a family to comfort her. I remembered that when I watched her drive out of the parking lot and out of sight.

"Damn…" I let out another slow breath, closing my eyes to enjoy whatever I was left with. Honestly, I felt like someone had taken my life and shook it around in a Ziploc bag. And here I was now, trying to piece it all back together. That was great and all, but half of the pieces were lost and the other half had changed shape completely.

"Hn." The soft snort that came from behind me completely caught me off guard. I jumped a bit before jerking to turn to Sasuke, who leaned against his car a few empty parking spots away. How long had he been there?

"Sasuke? What the hell are you doing out here?" I instantly crossed my arms and blurted the first accusation I could think of. "Were you spying on me?!"

"Hardly. Ino made me come out here to make sure you weren't skipping on your part of the bill." I gaped at his explanation, which seemed to amuse him from the smirk on his face.

"She actually thought I was going to chew and screw?! Oh that idiot, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" I growled while I stormed toward the restaurant. Well, tried to at least. But one sharp movement from the asshole sent me crashing into the side of his car. Not hard enough to damage me or the paint, but still enough to shock me. I peered up into onyx eyes, which seemed to stare straight into my gaze. Instantly my breath caught, from the intensity that was leashed beneath his eyes or the heat that pooled from his body and against mine. Wait, when did he get that close? I shivered when his arms slid to rest on either side of my head, trapping me. Instantly my defense mechanism kicked in. "W-What the hell te--...uh…jerk!"

"You've been avoiding me." Well duh. Even a blind kid could see that. But instead of saying that, I straightened myself out so I almost became level with his gaze. Damn, I was too short.

"I have not! Like I would waste my energy trying to dodge you."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"You ran into a girl's bathroom to get away from me." Well, he had me there. Not that I was going to let him know that.

"I was momentarily confused about my gender." He narrowed his eyes at my weak excuse to show me that even a monkey wouldn't buy what I was selling. But really, if a monkey wanted to buy something besides a banana, that was pretty unique. Wait, could monkeys buy things? See, having the bastard this close did things to my body—brain! I meant brain.

"You were hiding." He leaned closer to me, and instantly I hit his chest with my fist.

"Damnit! Why am I the one always pushed against something?!" He arched an eyebrow as I huffed, glaring up at him through a slight blush. "Every time we have a serious conversation, you push me up against a wall, or a car, or anything you can find! And it's getting really annoying. Think of something original why don't you?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…sitting down, or like…upside down! Yeah! Like Spiderman!"

"You're an idiot." But even so, he leaned back enough to give me room to move. Yeah his arms were still on either side of me, but I could have pushed them away if I wanted to. And I was gonna! …Soon.

"Yeah, well you're an ass," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Hn." If someone had taken a picture of us, we could have made a lot of girls' day. They'd probably faint from the eye-lock we were in. And with Sasuke leaning all stupidly attractive-like, it would send teenagers into a squealing fit. Our faces were closer than they had to be, we both knew it. Hell, anyone who saw us would know it. That'd probably cause some nosebleeds. And he bent in a way that elongated his neck and back…okay, maybe some guys would enjoy it to. Yeah, the tension was that strong. Not that I cared. If there was one word to describe me and Sasuke, it was intense. Because we could never just half-ass something, whether it was fighting or trying to dig into each other's skin and shovel out some dark secrets. It had to be an all out effort. And now was no exception. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Have you been avoiding me?" Oh, we were back to that again? I was really hoping we could just forget it ever happened. I unwillingly squirmed while pulling my arms tighter to me.

"Why do you care?" And after the moment of silence, I couldn't stop the teasing that passed my lips. "You miss me?"

"From the apparent bags under your eyes, I should be asking you that question."

"H-Hey! You don't look that hot today either!"

"You implying I'm hot normally?" The off-handed comment instantly brightened my face. I knocked him in the head with my fist before deciding now was the perfect time to end this conversation. Shoving him away from me, I moved from the car and turned back toward the restaurant.

"As if I'd ever think an arrogant assed bastard like you was hot!" And if I had control of the world, this would be where I made my brilliant exit without another word. I'd saunter back into the restaurant, the wind blowing through my gorgeous blonde hair and leaving Sasuke stunned with awe of my smexiness…but then again, if I ruled the world, Ramen would be in every food group, and I'd be king. So no, I guess I had no control over what happened in my twisted life.

So it should be no surprise that my happy ending got messed up. There was a hand on my wrist a second before I was jerked back into Sasuke's body. Any attempt to protest was muffled by something Kakashi called 'punishment'. My eyes must have doubled in size at the surge of pressure on my mouth, or the delicious smell of cinnamon that overwhelmed my senses. The hands I had at my sides now grasped Sasuke's jacket, though to push him away or pull him closer I wasn't sure. Instantly my stomach was a flip flopping mess, and I couldn't hear anything past the heart that threatened to rip itself out of my ribcage and catch a cab to paradise. Slowly my eyes fluttered shut at the sensation of something soft swiping along my lower lip. Uchiha Sasuke was kissing me. It wasn't a make-out kiss, and we certainly did not touch tongues. But something about the contrast of Sasuke's hard personality and soft lips had me shivering pleasurably. Heat scorched my body wherever we touched, and we still had clothes on in between us! This was _so _not planned.

And after what seemed like forever (because it's hard to check the time when there's an Uchiha stuck to your face), pale lips pulled away from my trembling mouth. I gasped for air like I had just run the mile in track, and mentally reminded myself my feet hadn't moved. My lids only lifted after the feeling of Sasuke's hand in my pants. I jerked my eyes open in shock, but instantly felt stupid when I realized that he was grabbing the phone that was now blaring 'Don't Stop Believing' from my pocket. His eyes lingered on mine while he flipped open the phone, muttering a sharp 'what' into it.

I should have been upset at the fact that he was being rude to whoever was calling me. In fact, I should have been kicking his ass for randomly kissing me like that. What was he thinking? And why didn't I push him back? Hell, neither of us even said the words! Did we? The night suddenly became blurry to me. I pressed two of my fingers against my lips, feeling the warmth that was left behind. So that's what it felt like to kiss Sasuke? I felt my eyes closing halfway and I curled my fingers against my lips stubbornly to hide the slight quirk of my lips. No matter what, I wasn't going to admit that I may have…

May have liked it.

"He'll call you tomorrow." I was brought back to the conversation on my phone when a pair of dark eyes caught mine in a commanding stare. Whatever he was going to say next, he didn't plan to argue about. "He's coming to my house for the night."

And just like that, my fate was sealed.

…**Yup, that's where I'm ending it. Haha Aw come on, it's 33 pages! Well what did you think? Sasuke kissed Naruto! I wonder why…hmm…oh! And they're heading to Sasuke's house for the night! What secrets will unfold? What will Naruto find in Sasuke's house? And just what is Sasuke hiding from the rest of the world? Well whatever it is, Naruto is planning to find out! Yea, I'm getting all mysterious on you guys…but you'll find out more next chapter! Review and I'll write my little heart out! Thanks a bunch for reading! **


	6. A Broken Past and a Promised Future

Hello everyone! I'm back again with a new chapter to Therapy! I know that some of you read my one-shot, and for that I'm very grateful. Sorry about worrying some of you, but I'm all better now! =) Iz no more sad. Thank you all again for making me feel lots and lots better. Now for some reason –completely ignores the kiss- you all liked the last chapter a lot. So I've got seven pages of reviews…-sweatdrops- Not that I mind! Just please be patient with me, and sorry if I don't get to yours! But know I'm really excited and glad you read the story! Okay, so, first thank you goes toooooo…**miskie27**! Thanks for the first review, so long! Haha yea I like Ino when she's not all obsessed with Sasuke since really she hardly ever has screen time with him…-sighs. And now for the rest of you! **Kazanrai **(Well I sure hope its awesome! But be warned, there is angst coming your way)**, Astharoche **(haha I'm happy that someone liked the coffin part! I was just like 'Shika is going to get picked up one day and noooobody is going to realize he's not dead)**, XxFirexDance **(LMAO! You made me laugh so hard! That was probably the funniest review I have ever gotten!)**, XxMileena-chanxX **(Oh boy! Haha well don't let Kyo push you around, show him whose boss in that relationship! And I'm happy you like my writing…so I hope you don't shoot me)**, LovelyNocturnalSunGoddess **( I love how you listed! That was so much more helpful and able to read haha. And thank you for all of your sweet words, it really makes me happy to see someone like you like my writing! You're what makes it all worth it!)**, The Desiree Incident **(-pats head- it's okay, you're not the own one who was speechless at first. And I'm glad that you enjoyed it, because theres more where that came from!)**, kat10788 **(oh trust me, it's going to be all sticky and sweet…and before you get a nose bleed, you'll have to read the chapter and yell at me for leading you on =P)**, PurpleDemon22 **(haha calm down calm down! I promise the lemon will be coming very soon. Just get a paper bag and breath)**, KristinaCleaver18 **(haha I sure hope no dogs were near you during that squeal! I'm glad that you enjoy it, so here's more!)**, HeartofRaven **(Don't claw out your hair! Oh boy, what am I going to do with you missy…well just read and hopfully this will keep your hair in tact for a while)**, Kisa167 **(Of course he's all secrety! If he wasn't it wouldn't be Sasuke)**, cluelessninja65 **(Well I'm happy that I've got you interested! And don't worry, you'll find out who called and it may not be who you think)**, 5Angel **(Well aren't you just a little reviewing queen! You're making me very happy, and I'm excited to know that I had caught your interest! =) So I hope that I do you justice in this chapter too)**, Maryana Uzumaki **(haha don't I wish that I owned Naruto…then again if everyone owned him, people would make him go with Sakura)**, Friglit **(haha I love the little dance! I'm glad that you like the story, and I'm hoping that you'll enjoy the little romance in this one too!)**, XMissxPepperX **(yea these plot bunnies never really leave me alone for long…I take one step away and they're gnawing at my ankles)**, CoffeeNeurotic **(haha yay I'm happy the apple thing was good! And I'm happy for your review, thanks so much!)**, Pyro-Neko-Isis **(yea I'm not exactly sure how I'm able to do that….guess I really have no life, haha…)**, Dirty Little Rockstar **(well I'm glad that you're giving my on-going story a shot! I'll try to get the chapters every three/four days)**, mockup **(haha well Naruto is very stubborn when he decides stuff. That's why we love him though!)**, Keikeiaznqueen **(jesus you have a hard name to type! And yea, Sasuke does like spicy but…he doesn't mind sweet in this one –winks-)**, ..wings. **(haha what can I say, fangirls make my stories popular! Haha and yea, it was a sweet chapter, so now I've gotta add some angst…-sighs-)**, Here's Your Cheese Omelette **(Very funny name! thanks for the salute and I'm hoping that you enjoy the next chapter!)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(too lazy to log in? =P Yea it means bastard. And I don't know, it'll be a mystery until the end of forever! Or at least until the next chapter)**, Wopsidaisy **(aw it's okay, I was kind of thinking that too, being like 'wow Naruto just told her to give up and here they go making out…uh…opps')**, zerofangirl **(haha thanks for the sweet review! Yea, I was hoping I got some people to be like 'wtf' with the pant grabs…and I'm glad that you liked how I handled Saku and Naru, because I hate when people just leave things unfinished with characters..idk I'm weird)**, Emileemynameskatrina **(well I hope this was fast enough for you. And I love answering reviews because you all put in the effort so I need to give you the same courtesy)**, XSasuXNaruXForeverX **(Sorry if I confused you! Didn't mean to I promise, but I hope that everything is cleared up now)**, cassana-do **(Omg you're my hero right now…how the heck did he get the pubes anyways? O.O but I hate to burst your bubble, but there is no Naruto shrine in this…but there's uh…strawberries!)**, Kittywoman12 **(Oh I'm so happy I made you feel better! That's my job being an author and all!)**, Akiru chan **(you're a very good guesser! I don't know how you figured it out, but you did! And yea, I think Naruto was better at telling her than Sasuke would ever be)**, Deathangelebz **(haha yea it sucks when you know two people like each other but they just won't say anything…-real life experience-)**, asdf **(-drags Ino and Shika to Kakashi- alright, so these two are your next couple….haha but really, they'll get around to it eventually…like maybe soon…real soon…)**, WER **(haha I try to make sure they aren't OCC, so to hear that you like them all makes me very happy!)**, blue-nuriel **(oh belive me, this is a Sasuke centric chapter really…well mostly, but there's always a little Naruto and other important characters…alright so I'm making no sense, whatever!)**, Searafina **(haha yea I'm happy that I got this out too! I try to keep it on a schedule and it's easier now that I'm on vacation on a week…I shutter to think what I'll be like in the summer!)**, JAZZCAKE=] **(haha you all think so dirty! Remember, this is Sasuke and Naruto we're talking about…so only a little bit of smexy smexy)**, sakurananachan **(I think you're going to like this chapter solely because it's about everything that Sasuke is hiding from Naruto…haha! A huge chunk of Sasuke's past is explained here)**, elana rose **(haha well, about two months ago I _was _one of those newbies…well kind of…)**, Itooshii Koneko **(aw thanks so much for the review! I wasn't really feeling too good about my writing so when I read this I felt all nice and fuzzy inside! Thank you so much! ) **, DaphneRaynard **(fruitbowls are very hard work, but I love them when they involve SasuNaru to NaruSasu…Im not picky =P)**, moonlightstar1789 **(haha you make it sound like an attack! 'go super full fan girl mode!' not that I mind of course =) I like fangirls!)**, Chiaki Megumi **(aw thank you so much for the compliment, and I'm just happy that I could make your day a little bit brighter! **, Kyuubi1794 **(that'd be hard for him to do where he was, but he will be coming up soon…don't worry, we'll get our share of Itachi)**, Mystique Monique AKA Mina **(Well wouldn't you jump at the chance to kiss Naruto? I sure know I would, but sadly I kno where his true heart belongs…)**, The Silver Eternity **(talk about sealing the deal with a kiss! I bet when they kissed, he sneezed and was like 'oh, someone is doing something perverted because of me')**, Crystalline Twine **(haha well hello to you too. I'm happy that you are excited, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!)**, ChikaraDesu **(I'm glad that someone likes the waiting! Haha I am kind of like that at times, like if a story is complete I want it to be long because I wanna have that slow process to fall in love with the relationship)**, purrpolisprincess **(well maybe he just did it because of what Kakashi wanted….yea…sure, we'll pretend I didn't even suggest that)**, ERJ-Blue-Rose **(oh boy, I sure hope you didn't die! Thank you for the sweet review. You printed it out? –blushes- that makes me feel special, thanks so much! So here you go, you can breathe now)**, -Nightly Halo- **(haha I don't think I'm a god, even though you're the third person to say that to me…huh…anyways, thanks for the review! And don't you go dieing on me, you have to read and be all cheering for SasuNaru!)**, hollowsmile **(haha Sasuke seems to have a problem with controlling things…probably after hearing Naru praise Neji, he wanted some control back)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(haha he better sleep well after everything he's going to go through! And yea, it's always nice when a few words slip out and kisses soon follow)**, ent55 **(You! Don't think I haven't realized you reviewed a lot of my stories lately because I have! Haha I'm happy that you seem to enjoy my writing)**, Robyn **(Sorry for keeping you up! -hands wet towel- uh, put this on your forehead and breath deep! Or is that for when you're in labor…aw crap, always mix that up!)**, Kawaii-No-Naruto **(haha cute name I must say. And I agree, SasuNaru shall always live because really they're the only pair that makes sense…although now that Hinata is getting rescued, I'm a bit worried)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(haha I think that's the most emotion I've gotten from you yet! And you should know by now I never leave you guys for long –taps nose- silly)**, Gingitsune32 **(yay I'm happy that you like Kakashi! And I'm excited to be on your reading list! So I hope you like this chapter)**, coldndrowning911 **(well make sure to breath during this because I don't want to be the reason you pass out! Haha but I'm happy that you like the story)**, Lydia-chan **(haha Naruto had the great idea to say the gender thing as if it would actually work…poor poor Naru)**, Belward4ever **(haha you don't have to worship me! But thank you for the review and it made me feel really happy to do this chapter! Which is werid, cause it's kind of sad…)**, Imou **(haha don't sweat it! I love writing SasuNaru, and all of you are so respondent that I can't help but writing for all of you! I should be thanking you for reading)**, Secludedindarkness **(haha poor you, it's okay to get excited for a little SasuNaru action….but you should be warned that this chapter has a little more loving than before so be ready!)**, Nikotehfox **(Did I say lemon? Crap I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on! Sorry sorry! It'll be coming soon, so don't worry)**, Chipfest **(haha, you said Cheerio…but I'm glad that you're waiting because that makes me write even faster)**, PhoebeGilmore **(she's very sly and knows how to read Naruto much better than the others…hence why she can tell who he likes and how he feels)**, Boomgoesyourhead **(Thanks, I'm glad that so many people like that! I was actually a little nervous people wouldn't like it!)**, MarthaM **(haha maybe, Sasuke is mysterious that way! And if Naru asked, you know he'd just switch the question onto Naruto somehow) **, a rather slytherin griffindor **(I'm so happy that you like how I resolved the team 7 triangle because I was a little nervous about it…but knowing a regular reviewer liked it makes that it really was good!) **, MasochistandSadist **( YAY! You're back! I've miss you both! And I'm guessing this chapter will make both of you happy since its got romance and angst)**, Jenniebennie **(I could so see him letting the wind blow the hair right into his face! Haha but in the anime there is always a wind and I'm like 'where the heck did that come from?!')**, Emoske **(haha you are an impatient one, huh? Well I'm glad that you're giving this a shot and I hope you enjoy this!)**, MagentaDusk **(yea Naruto is being thrown on an emotional roller coaster that he cant get off of because someone broke the remote…hee hee…-slips away)**, **and **robin Maxwell **(well Naruto said it to Sakura in their talk, he calls Sasuke a teme, but the question really is did Sasuke hear him or not? Hmm…-ponders- oh, wait, I'm supposed to know, huh?)

That took….over an hour to do….over 100 reveiws….over 2000 words…I'm just gonna…take a nap now…-falls over-

**Warning: ****There is some boyxboy, yada yada yada, smut, yada yada yada, angst…wait, angst?! –looks over work- oh yea…get some tissues!**

**Disclaimer: ****Alright boys, who wants to do the disclaimer with me about how I don't own any of you?! –watches them all run away- huh...-glances to cage trap- …where did the damn leaves go to hide this!? **

**A Broken Past and a Promised Future**

How Sasuke got me into the car, I wasn't sure. There were probably some strong 'no ways' from me, which didn't stop me at all from following his lead. I tried to use the excuse that I needed to pay for my food, but Sasuke said I could pay Ino back later. Because apparently, Sasuke thinks we're all just made out of money. But trying to tell the bastard anything was completely pointless when he had his mind set to something. Well, that and my mind still hadn't completely cleared up from before. So really he was fighting an unfair battle, and I wanted a damn redo!

Not that it mattered now, since we were already heading toward his house. I glanced along the black interior of the car, mentally grumbling about how spotless he kept it. Really, he had to pay someone to clean this thing every time someone left it. There wasn't a damn speck of dust on my side of the car. But apparently his cleaning dude was slacking because there was evident dirt along his foot rug.

I turned my attention back out the tinted window to watch the houses fly by. Actually we were the ones moving, but that's not the point. Maybe I should have been focusing on the fact that we hadn't spoken since we moved into his mustang. I busied myself with thoughts about anything but him while he continued to be emo and sulk. It wasn't like I was the one who demanded to go to his house. I didn't jump into his car and force him at gun point to bring me to the Uchiha mansion. Really I was the one being kidnapped. And if I didn't think Jiraiya was too busy trying to coax granny into another date, I'd hope he'd call the police.

I shifted a bit in my seat and leaned my elbow on the door, resting my knuckles along the side of my mouth. I ignored the slight tingle I felt whenever I brushed the now alert nerves in my lips. Damnit he had been a little rougher than he had to. When Kakashi said punishment, I didn't think he meant 'kiss until your lips bruise'. Wait, it's Kakashi. I revise that statement. I didn't think Sasuke would _follow _Kakashi's hopes in kissing until our lips bruised. But he had, and now I couldn't stop blushing any more than I could stop the vibrating nerves in my lips. Wasn't this supposed to go away after a few minutes? It sure did when I kissed other people. Maybe Sasuke had some type of lip disease I didn't know of. But he didn't let his fangirls get within five feet of him, so how he contracted it I wasn't sure.

And why the hell did he kiss me anyways? That had been bugging me since he answered my damn phone. I went through every conversation I had with him in the past few hours, and yet not once did I say teme. And if he said dobe, wasn't I supposed to be the one to kiss him? Well, I guess Kakashi never specified who had to kiss who after an insult, but it still seemed weird that he would recognize his own mistake and kiss me without me having a damn clue what was going on. And wouldn't he have just kissed me for a second and then pulled away? Why had he made it so long? I brushed my fingers along my lower lip and flushed when I asked myself why I had let him continue to kiss me.

"We're here." I blinked and looked up at the house we had stopped at, already knowing my eyes had doubled in size from shock. He said this was a _house_? It looked a damn mall! The thing was huge, completely enough for half of the town to live in if a flood ever destroyed their houses. Not that he'd even let them in I bet.

"This place is enormous!"

"Hn." We both moved out of the car, and I couldn't help but gawk at how it seemed to take up my entire view. I knew Sasuke was rich and all, but _this?_ I didn't even think the president could pull this off.

"Why the heck is it so big? And how do you keep it clean anyways? You've got to have at least twenty-five rooms in this place! Do you have set of maids or something?" He stared at the front of the house quietly, and I slowly moved over to push on his arm. "Hey, are you listening?"

"I don't have a staff at my house. I clean on my own." I stared in shock while he walked toward his front door, not caring if I was following or not. For a host, he certainly didn't treat me like a guest. Once again, I never _asked _to come here.

"I don't believe you. There is no way that you can clean this entire house and not pass out by the end of the day!" His hand stopped on the doorknob and he sent me a glare over his shoulder that I thought was completely unneeded. But before I could open my mouth, he spoke.

"Most of the rooms are closed off. I don't go into them. And neither will you." When did his voice get so icy? Seriously he needed to learn some people skills. I should have told him to pull the stick out of his ass, but I bit my tongue. Like I really wanted to take the chance of blurting out a certain word. The last thing I needed was another kiss. I chose to ignore the skipped heartbeat to try and peek over Sasuke's shoulder when he opened the door.

"Holy…" It looked even bigger on the inside. I closed the door quietly behind me while I kicked off my shoes, getting a slight glare when I whistled. "How do you not get lost in this place?"

"I have a brain."

"Hey! I have one too!"

"I use mine." My tongue was going to be bitten in half if this was how the night was going to go. Doing my best to ignore him, I took in the white hallway that was completely stripped of any paintings or decorations that may have once hung there. The floor was wood, and I easily glided through the house while Sasuke silently led me to the stairs. Truthfully, the quiet atmosphere was creeping me out. Whenever I was home, I always had music playing or friends that came over and raided my fridge. There were pictures of me, my friends, gramps, and even my parents just to have faces around me. I had painted over anything and everything I could find to make it feel more alive and welcoming just in case Jiraiya wasn't waiting for me when I came back from school. Even though gramps was always messing with my stuff, it was nice to have another soul at home. But Sasuke…His house screamed how alone he truly was. The place felt cold, deserted…

Dead.

"Hey." I finally spoke up when we stopped in front of what I assumed was Sasuke's room. It was the only door open in the entire hallway. When Sasuke didn't answer me, I moved to stand in front of him so I could see his face. Not that it really mattered, since he was stuck on stoic mode. "Why did you bring me here? Why not my house?"

"I'm going to take a shower. If you wish to change into something suitable for sleep, you'll find clothes in my dresser."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"They will only be in the top two drawers."

"You're a friggen prick." If he was offended by my insult he didn't show it, instead turning his back to me and entering the door to the immediate left of his room. Great, so he even had a connected bathroom to his bedroom. Lucky jerk. I waited until he shut the door to turn my attention back to the room he had suggested was his. I almost hesitated when I placed my hand onto the door. I was really going to enter Sasuke's room, wasn't I? It really shouldn't have been a problem, since he had been in my room plenty of times before. Well okay, so it was only twice, but that was still more than this, right? Nodding to steel my nerves, I shoved the door open and moved into the unknown.

…_This _was what I making a big deal about? I blinked once and looked around the dark blue room, realizing one factor I didn't take into account when I prepared for the worse. Sasuke was human. For some reason, I expected his room to be plain or completely filled with scientific crap that I had no idea how to work. So when I saw posters on his walls, CDs stacked on his desk, and homework scattered on the floor, I was completely floored. Hell, his room almost looked like mine. Well, except he was a lot neater and he could probably find clean clothes without having to do a smell test. I closed the door behind me as I moved into the bedroom, skimming my fingers over the collection of books he had filed on one of his shelves. Sasuke looked like he practically lived in this room. He had everything short of a fridge and a bathtub in here, the latter being pointless with the connected bathroom.

But why he would waste all of that space downstairs was completely impossible for me to figure out. I closed my eyes halfway as my hand fell back to my side. I spent a lot of nights in my parent's bedroom; looking at the pieces of themselves they left behind. My dad's shirts used to be the only thing I would sleep in when I was little because I was sure that if I wore them long enough, he'd come back for both me and the piece of clothing he left behind. Mom had kept some of her jewelry in a music box on their dresser. After I had gotten over the initial anger of them leaving me, I used to leave the box open so I could remember my parents while I curled into their bed and slept. Actually, I had done that until I met Shika and Ino. For some reason, they made it okay for me to sleep on my own.

Sasuke, however, acted like his family never existed. He seemed to take away every picture and object that would even suggest someone else lived here besides him. By his own admission he said that most of the doors were locked. He didn't clean them, which meant he never went into them. Why didn't he want to keep his family's memory alive? Just knowing that he came home every day to a house so empty made my heart hurt. Why did Sasuke lock himself in this one room? Why did Sasuke close himself off?

"Clothes…" That's right, I needed clothes. I glanced back to the dresser sitting near the bathroom door, and I threw open the first drawer. Searching through the neatly piled clothes I pulled out one of his black shirts. Just for fun, I messed up the stacks of shirts before switching to the next drawer. When I found plaid sleepwear, I rolled my eyes. Leave it to the bastard to wear old people pants. I shrugged a matching pair onto my shoulder (I swear Ino was rubbing off on me) before slamming the drawer a little bit too hard. I swore when something in the drawer underneath made a noise, and I debated the option of opening it to see what happened. If I didn't and Sasuke found it, then it wouldn't be long until he had my head on a platter. But if I did open it and something was broken, then I'd be dead anyways. Deciding that knowing before Sasuke would give me a head start in running, I quietly pulled the drawer open.

Luckily the noise was just a pencil case falling over. Only Sasuke would have a set of pencils ready to be used. I skimmed the large drawer, amazed to find no articles of clothes. Instead, it was filled with things you'd find in a junk drawer. Anything from a roll of duck tape to a small first aid kit was all crammed into the drawer. What was he waiting for, the apocalypse? The drawer only seemed to confirm how much time he spent isolated in his room.

"If this drawer is filled with shit…" I let my thoughts trail as I quietly closed the drawer and looked down at the last unopened question I had. Feeling too curious to let myself pull away, I wasted no time in pulling the final drawer open to look inside. I blinked once at how empty the drawer was. In fact, the only thing inside of it was a large black book with writing that was shadowed by the dresser. Slowly I pulled the book out, reading the words 'Family Album' written in gold on the top. I froze on the spot. Sasuke kept a family album? He wouldn't step foot in any of his rooms that reminded him of his family, and yet he kept their pictures inside of his fortress? He didn't make sense.

I knew I shouldn't have touched it. But I unconsciously slid down to sit cross-legged on the floor while I opened the cover quietly. The only picture that sat in the middle of the first page was what I could easily recognize as Sasuke's family. His mother was very beautiful and kind-looking, while his father looked strong but intelligent. Itachi looked just like Sasuke with his dark hair and eyes. The only difference was their facial structure and hair style. Itachi got his from their father, while Sasuke seemed to resemble his mother more. Itachi's hair was longer and kept in a ponytail while Sasuke's was duck-butt worthy even back them. A part of me smirked at how little Sasuke looked in the family portrait. He even seemed to be smiling. That was a first for the jerk. I laughed and started to flip through the pictures, watching how with every flip of the page, his family grew.

There were a lot of pictures of Sasuke with his family. So there _was_ a time that he wasn't anti-social. He was completely obsessed with the camera when he was a kid, dragging his unwilling father or smiling mom into a few pictures. But the one he seemed to cling to the most was the only living member left of his family. Itachi seemed to always be somewhere near as little Sasuke started to change from a toddler to a kid. You'd think a teen like Itachi would get sick of dealing with a little squirt following him. But in almost every picture, there was nothing but contentment.

What had gone wrong? I stopped at the picture of the two brothers playing basketball outside of their house. Well, at least Sasuke was trying. Itachi seemed to be helping Sasuke learn to shoot, neither looking at the camera. Actually, by the charming frown on Sasuke's face, I could tell neither even knew the camera was there. There was no fakeness in their relationship. Itachi really seemed to love his brother, and Sasuke…was actually happy. Just like every other picture with his older brother. But that had all been marred because of something Sasuke wouldn't talk about. Something that made him act like he never really had a brother. Itachi was probably what started his obsession with basketball. He was the only person that seemed to make Sasuke, even as a child, actually smile.

My fingers twitched on the page, and I realized with the next flip that there weren't any more family pictures. Instead, my eyes widened at the faded photos and newspaper clippings that were turning yellow from age. Still, I couldn't mistake the picture of two dead bodies as anyone other than Sasuke's parents. I swallowed a bit as I glanced to the several pictures of the crime scene, all seeming to be coming from separate newspapers. The outlines of where the bodies had once lied were evident in the newspaper pictures. Why didn't I remember this? Sure Sasuke didn't live in our town yet, but one of the papers read 'Konoha times' right at the top. Maybe I was too young. I knew that I didn't get papers sent to my house anymore, since my parents weren't there to pay for them. If I had watched the news, it was only to see if school was cancelled before I switched to something more interesting.

My stomach jerked uneasily at the more disturbing photos in front of me. These ones weren't from the newspapers. These looked like crime scene photographs. My body was threatening to throw up if I continued to stare at the puddle of blood underneath the two bodies. So I flipped the page, now settling on the actual stories that Sasuke had cut out from the paper. Wasn't he only twelve? Why would he do all of this? Where did he get half of these pictures? How could he stomach seeing his parents like that, shot at different angles and knowing they weren't going to wake up?

"_May 30__th__…"_ I whispered softly, not sure why I felt I needed to be quiet. Sasuke was in the shower, I could hear the water still running. "_Two bodies were found shot in the head in the Uchiha mansion, on Monday night, May 28__th__. They were identified as Uchiha Fugaku, age 42, and his wife Mikoto,40. Fugaku was known for his strong political work in the town, and was leaving his position to move out of town with his wife and two sons, Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi, 17, has been accepted into Suna University this year, being once called the 'pride and joy of the Uchiha family'. At age 12, Sasuke seems to be following his brother's intellectual strength, already having skipped a grade and planning to enter eighth grade this September. However, both of the children's education has been put on hold."_

Sasuke was supposed to have already graduated? I skimmed the article's first page again, completely thrown off by the new information. If the murders happened in May, why was Sasuke still not in school in September? Hoping to find more information, I moved through the article.

"_The two sons had been out at Sasuke's basketball game, while their parents celebrated their anniversary at home. The actual facts of the murders are still being investigated by the police. Sources say that two dark clothed figures had been in the area earlier that night, but no witnesses were able to see their faces. From the missing money and personal items on both victims and throughout the house, police have determined the deaths were not the main intention of the two criminals._

"_The two sons are currently residing with the Department of Social Services (D.S.S) because there is no immediate family at this time. Uchiha Itachi is turning eighteen in a few weeks and has already been quoted in the case of his brother's custody. "Uchiha are family," The young teen said to reporters waiting outside of the D.S.S building. The older son was seen protectively standing in front of his younger brother while he spoke. "And family will never be separated. I intend to take full care of my brother"._

"_D.S.S worker Sound Orochimaru, however, is not sure that this is possible. "The two Uchiha sons have both suffered a tragic accident. To let the older son have custody over his brother would be foolish and probably result in a catastrophic disaster. It would be in their best interest to have them stay at an orphanage, and perhaps find new homes in order to start their lives fresh. Their living together may only remind them of their past. New homes with a case like this would be easy to find."_

"_In fact, the D.S.S worker has already opened his door. "I would be happy to take either one of them in, since I've been looking to adopt someday. And with the younger one's instability right now, I feel placing him with a worker like myself would be beneficial." The cops are still looking for any leads in this case, and any tip would be greatly appreciated. Please call…"_

I didn't bother to read the rest as I skipped to the next article. It was strange, seeing how many different stories were made about them. From the dates, it was circulating in the papers for months. First the actual murder, then the discovery of 'new evidence'. They found the gloves or something of the murderers. The focus, however, slowly started to run around the legal battle over Sasuke. It was obvious now why he never went back to school that year. His brother, who seemed very intelligent through all of his interviews, was able to use the money left for him and Sasuke to hire a lawyer for his case. D.S.S, mainly this Orochimaru guy, continued to persist that the two be separated because of 'psychological damages'. However, none of the papers spoke of a test done on either of the sons.

The dates of the stories ran up until December, when suddenly a blank sheet of the photo album appeared. I blinked as I stared at the space, glancing to see that beneath it was another set of articles. Now that was weird. I could easily tell from the neatness of the album and how everything was organized that Sasuke would never leave a space unintentionally. It was meant to be a page break between the two sets of articles. I slid my hand to grab the edge of the blank page, and started to flip it over to see why Sasuke had left the page break.

Unfortunately, the book was shoved out of my hands two seconds before I rammed hard into the dresser behind me. Not prepared for the pain I shouted, closing my eyes tightly as if somehow that would stop the throbbing in my back. I breathed through my nose heavily to keep myself from letting out a string of curses as the knob on the dresser dug into my spine. Any harder and that could have seriously done some damage. But no matter how much it hurt to move, my body tensed when I felt two damp hands grab onto my shoulders painfully. I jerked my eyes open to stare up at the rage that was bubbling over the porcelain mask Sasuke normally wore. I felt my own eyes widen at how deadly low his voice sounded.

"What are you doing?" I unconsciously swallowed to keep my throat wet enough to speak.

"I didn't…mean to." The answer seemed to make his hands press harder into my shoulders. For the first time in my life, I was contemplating hitting him under the belt and running. Not that he had a belt over the white cloth wrapped around his waist. His hair was still wet, and I couldn't help but trail a droplet that slid down his cheek with my eyes. Hell if I was going to die, at least I had a good show. Maybe if I wasn't petrified about losing my life, I would have noticed my own admission.

"You went into my dresser and touched my personal belongings. What right did your diluted head make up to allow you to touch my things?" Alright, so the fear was slowly starting to fuel my own anger when I heard how condescending he was being to me. I messed up, yea. But I told him I didn't mean to, and it wasn't like I had really done anything wrong!

"I thought I broke something in your third drawer, so I just…I just looked! And when you had all the messed up stuff in there, I figured 'what the hell is in the last one' and I just opened it. I wasn't trying to steal from you or anything!" Maybe bringing up stealing wasn't exactly the brightest idea I've ever had. Especially just reading about why his parents were killed. I felt myself freeze up again at how harsh his glare had gotten. I didn't like this, it wasn't right. Normally Sasuke would get annoyed with me, call me an insult, and walk away. Even during our fights, he never raised his voice. Uchihas were supposed to have control over themselves, right? So why was he shaking from his anger? Did he really want to hide his past away from everyone like this?

"Uzumaki." I didn't want him to say my name like that. I didn't want him to stare at me like I was the biggest scum on earth. I didn't want his hands to keep holding me like I was a rodent he wanted to destroy. I had just wanted to know who he was. But not if it ended up like this. So when he parted his lips to speak, I lost it. "You-"

"Teme!" I shouted it so fast that we both paused in our breathing. His eyes never left mine, and I almost sighed in relief when some of the murderous intent dribbled away. Still, anger laced the tone of his voice.

"What?"

"I said t-teme. You have to kiss me."

"You said it on purpose."

"I don't care." He scowled at my quick response before scoffing, pressing forward to slid his mouth onto mine. My eyes shut in a nanosecond at the delicious bubbling inside of my stomach. I blamed it on the happiness that I could live another day and not that fact that Sasuke wasted no time in prying my mouth open with his tongue. The hands on my shoulders pressed me back against the dresser when I kissed back, defending the cavern of my mouth with my own tongue. I sighed quietly into his mouth when the pressure of his hands slid away from my shoulders in favor of leaning on the dresser behind us. His rough kissing had slowly dissolved into a warm caress from his lips while his body shifted. It caused his mouth to tilt slightly, and my tongue happily took the opportunity to push the war into his territory. I decided at that moment that Sasuke bathed in cinnamon. His sweet taste overwhelmed me for a second, but I didn't let it stop the eager exploration along the inside of his teeth. His tongue slid under mine in a way that made my toes curl and my bent knees press tighter against his hips. Damn, when had Sasuke gotten there? I found I didn't care when one of his hands grabbed the back of my head and pulled me back far enough to let us both breathe for a second. And I mean a second.

"Dobe." Oh yea, we needed another insult now. We met halfway, all sense of reasoning and embarrassment shoved to the back of my head. My hands reached up to grab onto his shirt, but the warm skin that greeted my callous palms was just as nice. He made a weird noise into the kiss at the touch, but his willingness to swipe my upper lip with that hellish tongue proved it was not in protest. Why my mind decided that the insult-punishment theory now made touching okay I wasn't sure, but running my hands over his shoulders seemed pretty damn punishing to me. And if it wasn't, it should be. Maybe it was cinnamon lotion, because his skin was soft everywhere I touched. I let out a weak moan when his just as soft fingertips brushed against my bare stomach.

But no sooner did my mind start to accept the pleasure of Sasuke's skin did a loud noise shoot through the fog. We both jolted back, and I instantly grabbed at my pants when I saw where his hand was going. He looked up at me, and there was a foggy mixture of lust and aggravation in his eyes. I was pretty sure my gaze was worse.

"You don't have this many friends." I glared through my panting before I looked to the caller ID and groaned. I tried to ignore how dangerously low Sasuke's towel now rode (because I was embarrassed or disgusted to look I wasn't sure) when I flipped open my phone.

"What Ino?!"

"I should be saying that to you! As in, 'what' the hell are you doing at Sasuke's house?!" I blanched at the panic that seemed to seep from Ino's voice. What the hell was her problem? Wasn't I supposed to be the pissed off one? "And you owe me_ twenty_ bucks now thanks to you leaving me with the bill!"

"Uh…wait wait wait! How did you know I'm here?"

"Hinata told me."

"How did _she _know?" She scoffed better than Sasuke.

"Duh! Kiba told her."

"What the…how did he know?!"

"He called you to see if you were going to play basketball or something with him tomorrow. He got all freaked out because Sasuke had your phone and was saying that you weren't going to be available since you were going to his house. Well then Kiba just had to tell Hinata you were getting kidnapped by Sasuke while he rolled around on the ground in a panic, and so she called me to see if I knew what was going on with her doggy friend! I have enough problems on my plate already, I don't need to be playing 'where's Naruto' too!" I had to pull the phone away from my ear by the end of her rant, because each word brought a new pitch and volume to her voice.

"Well you don't have to yell. And what do you mean 'you have enough problems'? Did something happen after I left?" Maybe if I focused on her, I wouldn't have to explain why I was at Sasuke's house. Hell, I was still waiting on that answer myself.

"Of course. After Sasuke went after you, I was left alone with Shikamaru. And since you and Sakura opened your _big mouths-_" She hissed that part out through what I imagined were clenched teeth. "Shikamaru was asking me why I was jealous of Temari. Which, might I add, I'm not! So when I finally said he treated her more of a friend that he did me, he told me we were going to see a movie tomorrow night!"

"That doesn't sound like a problem at all. You finally got a date with Shikamaru. So why the hell are you biting my ear off?" I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the dresser, ignoring the glare I got from Sasuke. Him and all the confusion he brought with him could just hold on a second. For once, somebody else was acting like the blonde.

"Well…uh, you see…when he asked me, I kind of panicked. I mean, this is Shikamaru we're talking about! He's been my best friend since we were kids and to just randomly go out with him like we were actually _dating _kind of suddenly seemed too exclusive so…I…"

"Just spit it out Ino!"

"I told Shikamaru we should make it a double date with you!"

"…You did what?!"

"But it's okay because you and Sakura were getting along today! You can just bring her as your date right?" Yea, sure, let's just go on the date with the girl who thinks of me as her brother. That's not completely creepy or anything.

"Me and Sakura are definitely not going on any date together. Especially after the little 'we're just better as friends' talk she gave me tonight."

"She chose _now _to do that?! Okay that's fine, just ask Hinata to come with you."

"Hinata? As in, Kiba's best friend who he really wants to date because he thinks she's cute Hinata? Yea, I'd rather not deal with dog-breath up in my face." I heard her frustrated sigh blow through the phone.

"Don't you have any girl friends besides that?"

"I could ask Temari."

"Don't even start." I rubbed my temple with my free hand while I stared up at the ceiling, being reminded that the white ceiling I was seeing was not from my own room.

"What the hell do you want me to do? Throw a wig on the bastard and make him a girl?" I suddenly did not like the pause that fell on her side of the phone. It was almost as scary as Sasuke's glare.

"Bring Sasuke!" I immediately went to refuse her suggestion, but she didn't give me the time. "You said it yourself that Sasuke wants to go see that weird mask guy movie. And I'm sure that Shikamaru will go for anything that is dark and has comfy chairs for him to sleep in. Plus, it's not like you have to call it a real date if you don't want to. Just say that you're helping out a friend and you need his help. I know that he and Shikamaru get along, so they can talk if we need to have an emergency meeting. Sasuke's the perfect date!"

"I…I can't go anyways. I work tomorrow."

"Yea, only until seven. That gives us an hour to get ready. We'll catch a late movie and we'll be fine! If we want some dinner, we can just snag Jiraiya's keys and go back to the restaurant. You're pretty good with a spatula." I mentally groaned, and then groaned out loud just for good measure.

"You cannot be asking me to go on a damn date with Sasuke!" At the arched eyebrow I received, I felt some on the opposition go away. How was it was practically naked in front of me, and yet I was the one who felt self-conscious? I never got shy, it wasn't possible! "What are you looking at?"

"My so-called date."

"I'm not looking at anything." I decided to answer Ino instead of replying to that stupid comment.

"Not you Ino. I was talking to Sasuke."

"Oh great! Let me talk to him." My eyes widened at the request before I shook my head.

"No way!"

"Give him the phone Naruto."

"Nah uh." She seemed to sigh slowly, but it was only when I heard her pause that I realized it was an inhale I had heard.

"SASUKE!!" Her scream went right through my ear and I dropped the phone in pain. I was too busy clutching onto the injured appendage to take notice of Sasuke casually picking up the lost technology. By the time that I finally could hear through my ear again, a soft clap made me look to see Sasuke shutting my phone.

"You hung up on her?!"

"No. She went to call Shika and find out what time our movie was playing." I blinked once before my eyes widened in shock.

"You did not just say we."

"She invited me to go."

"Yea, as my _date _you idiot! Did you not just hear me scream at her like, two minutes ago?!" He scoffed and tossed my back my phone.

"China heard you."

"Then what made you think it was a good idea to just say yes like that? Do you want people to think we like each other or something?"

"I highly doubt anyone would believe that I would lower my standards down to your level."

"Well gee; you sure lowered them down enough to shove your tongue in my throat!" My hoarse cry seemed to shut both of our mouths for the first time since I had called him teme. How was it that we went from Sasuke nearly ripping my head off to having a date tomorrow night? Not that I was really complaining, since I enjoyed my face being intact a lot more than my pride.

The silence shifted from awkward to confusing in a matter of minutes. Alright, so we had kissed. Probably more than we needed to. And he had said dobe to keep it going. And I kind of groped him. But he groped back! Also, I had discovered more about Sasuke than I'm sure most people knew. Not enough to figure out what he hated Itachi for, but that was only a few flips of a page away. In fact the family I thought he had been trying avoid seemed to be more important to him than anything else. And it was a very sensitive topic. Then there was the whole 'going with Ino and Shikamaru to the movies' thing. Was it a date? I mean Shikamaru and Ino's part was. But Sasuke hadn't called it that. With all of these topic options, where the hell we were supposed to the start this new conversation?

"You uh…hungry?" Food always made things better. It was why people ate if after they got fired or dumped.

"We already ate." Was his oh so complex reply. It seemed that whenever we exchanged words, silence dipped in for a few seconds.

"Dessert then."

"Hn." See, another dip. "What kind?"

"Depends on what you've got for me to work with." A half an hour later, I was pulling a small shortcake from Sasuke's huge oven while I called out my next instruction for the quiet guy. "Alright, now pull out the sugared strawberries from before and put 'em next to the whipped cream. The sugar should have mixed in by now."

"Hn." I smiled at the expected response before I gently poked the cake with a fork, watching as some of the golden shortcake clung to the tins. Yup, it was cooked. I left it on top of the stove to move through the kitchen that seemed bigger than the restaurant's cooking area. Just being in such a high-tech kitchen made me feel twice as excited to cook in it. And even though I was covered in flour from making the shortcake from scratch (like I was going to use that store brand crap), I felt like a professional chef.

"Where are your bowls?" He tilted his head to the left slightly, and I smeared my dirty hands onto my pants before I walked over to the cabinet. Really it didn't matter what happened to my jeans since I was going to be changing for bed anyways. "Alright, so now that we've got all the separate parts done, we've got to mix it all up."

"Thanks for clarifying that, idiot." I dropped the bowls in front of him and decided my mood was too good to be ruined by his insult. I came back to the same spot I was in with the cooled shortcake, dropping the pan to rest next to the other ingredients. I took the knife he had used to chop the strawberries with in order to cut the cake into four small parts. I didn't bother making a huge amount since there were only two of us eating. It was one of the other benefits to making your own shortcake instead of the store-bought brands.

"Now all you've got to do is this." I gently placed two pieces in each bowl, letting the shorter sides touch at the bottom of the bowl while they rested on opposite sides on their partner. Once I was happy with the set up, I grabbed the semi crushed berries and smirked slightly at the strawberry liquid Sasuke had made. "Not bad…for a beginner."

"Give me a week and I'd surpass you." Now that I knew was a lie. It had taken me years to figure out how to cook as well as I did. There were just some things in life that I could beat Sasuke at no matter how hard he tried.

"Just pour this slowly over the cake…" I think I was talking more to myself than Sasuke, since I had a tendency to walk myself through my own creations. But it didn't matter as I watched the sugared fruit glide along the golden cake and drip into the awaiting crevices of the bowl. Once I was satisfied with both, I grabbed the whipped cream and finished the decoration with a few squirts of the sweet coating. "And viola! Strawberry shortcake, at your service."

"Should I take a picture so you can hang your achievement on the fridge?" He was seriously ruining my moment of pure bliss. But either way a grin caught my lips when I saw him swipe a bowl for himself and start to taste the dessert we made. I leaned against the counter, watching as he seemed to debate the words to describe the food. How did he know I would wait for a response? Apparently he was starting to learn my habits. "I don't like sweets."

"Then why did you eat it?" I asked, rolling my eyes. He didn't seem to find his situation odd as he took another soft bite from the sugary treat.

"Because." I huffed and grabbed my own serving, starting to munch down on the cake.

"Blah." He blinked once at my scrunched nose, and I shrugged before swirling my fork around. "It's not my best."

"Hn."

"Damn." I took another bit from the treat and pressed it to my tongue to see what was different. Finally I nodded and swallowed. "I must have put too much baking powder in it. Damnit, I always screw that up when I don't measure."

"It tastes fine." I looked up from the bowl when I realized Sasuke's voice had dropped down in volume. His eyes were cast away from me and out the window. Even his insult seemed weak. "You sound like a woman."

"I do not!"

"You let yourself get worked up over things only you would notice." He spoke as if he had experience. And from the lack of attitude and sharpness in his voice, I could guess who he was thinking of.

"Did your mom cook a lot?" His hands visibly tightened on the bowl in front of him, and it made me drop my own to the counter before I moved toward him. "I saw your family. In your album I mean."

"You shouldn't have touched it." I winced at how sensitive Sasuke was now that I knew. If I wasn't looking for it, I'd never tell he was uncomfortable. Two weeks ago I probably would have chalked his snappish tone to him just being an ass. Except now I wasn't as stupid as he wanted me to be. I noticed his shoulders were tightened and pressed closer to his neck, as if waiting for something to snap at. His eyes would shift slightly every few seconds, continuing to scan the area. His face remained calm while his body didn't move, but the slight balling of one of his hand in his sleep pants was noticeable to me.

"I didn't mean to."

"But you did."

"And I'm…" I paused in my statement. What was I going to say? Sorry? I really wasn't though. And I never sugar coated the truth when it came to Sasuke. "I'm glad I found it."

"Excuse me?" The sharp look he gave over his shoulder didn't change my feelings.

"You're so closed off from everything in this world. You keep yourself locked up in that god damn room when you have an entire house to yourself. Nothing is decorated or painted; nothing even shows there's a person here! You're like a ghost in your own house!"

"So what?"

"So what? So what?! You're not dead Sasuke! Don't you get that? Don't you…damnit!" I slammed my fist down on the island next to him, not caring about the pain that shot through my hand. "Your parents would be rolling in their graves if they knew what you were doing to yourself!"

"You didn't know them." Even though his stoic composure, his voice stung like acid.

"I know they loved you as much as you loved them. That's why you keep their pictures in your room. Why...why you keep their news clippings after all these years. You don't want to forget them, I get that. I know how that feels! But fucking…walking around like a zombie and hiding away in your room isn't keeping them alive. It's killing everything they left behind. I know that because I tried it!"

"Don't tell me you know how I feel." I glared up at him because I hated what I saw. Staring at Uchiha Sasuke, I saw myself when I was younger. Here was a kid who felt completely detached from society. Here was a teen that had everything taken from him, and then left to try and piece it all together. A boy who just wanted to understand why everything happened to him. A guy who wanted to give up. They were the same someone that let themselves sink lower into the black water, waiting for someone to reach down and pull them out. I had been saved. But Sasuke was drowning without even realizing it.

"I'll tell you whatever the hell I want, you got that?!" I shoved him hard against the wall, not caring his bowl went flying somewhere in the kitchen. I didn't let him move as I pressed my weight into him to keep him from running away.

"Let go."

"You think you're the only one whose ever been left alone? Who didn't understand why the world hated him so much to leave him without help when he was only ten fucking years old? I've been alone a lot longer than you have, and I've learned to deal with it! And now you're going to learn the same way I did, because I won't…" I felt myself tremble against him as my emotions crashed into me. It was so intense I had to close my eyes. "I won't let you be alone anymore. Whether you want me here or not, I'm not leaving you. So write that in your thick skull, or slap it into your photo album. I'll make this your _home_ again."

By now, I had my forehead pressed against his shoulder. I was tired. Physically because I hadn't had one damn night of good sleep since Sasuke had unconsciously conditioned me to fall asleep to his warmth. Mentally, because of Ino and Sakura and the photo album that kept flashing through my mind. Emotionally, because Sasuke was now stirring feelings and emotions I wasn't sure I was ready to face yet. I had never felt so uneasy and unsure of myself before. And yet, I had never experienced the connection that Sasuke unwillingly showed to me. Like somehow, we were tied together by a string. A very durable string.

Silently we made our awkward way up the stairs and to his room. I think he said the mess in the kitchen could wait for tomorrow. Like I was really going to argue with that. I shrugged on the sleeping attire that I had laid out before, not caring if Sasuke watched me or not. We had the same parts, it wasn't like it mattered. My eyes felt heavy when I crawled onto his bed, too tired to try and pretend I didn't want to curl into his black and white sheets and pass out. The smelt like him, after all. His heat was pooling off of him when our backs touched, and it was already lulling me to sleep. Damnit, Ino was right.

Knowing Sasuke would be there in the morning knocked me right out.

**Alright! Well that was the next installment to 'Therapy'. So the truth is starting to come out! As they dig deeper into their pasts, the boys seem to be getting more intense. But there is still so much to be dealt with. What really hurt Sasuke and Itachi? What does Orochimaru have to do with it? And what about Naruto's parents? What secrets will be revealed about them? And how is Kakashi wrapped into all of this? **

**But most importantly…Sasuke and Naruto are on their first date! =) haha I wonder what will happen…hmm….I'm not sure this will be completely over in 10 chapters…maybe 12ish, I don't know…well maybe if you review I'll tell ya all the answers to your burning questions! Bye for now! –winks-**


	7. Goodbye Normal, Hello Chaos

Alrighty! I know that it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been completely thrown off because of my random burst of school work. Leave it to now for college to get busy right when my stories are getting good. –sighs-. But I'll try to keep writing every 3/4 days. Sorry if it doesn't work out like that though! So anyways, heres the thank-yous! First one goes to **trixie101 **for the sweet(literally) review. I loooove strawberries and whipped cream! Haha now for the rest.** CoffeeNerurotic **(haha don't read until you finish your school work! –looks at the three projects I have to do- uh…haha)**, Boomgoesyourhead **(I seem to make people want to eat a lot with this story, so I guess I'm not surprised haha)**, Miskie27**(haha I'm sure Ino appreciates that SOMEONE paid her back! And yea, we all know Kakashi is chuckling on the inside from his pure evilness)**, blue-nuriel **(so many questions, so little time…but eventually it'll all be laid out for everyone)**, Drachenzan **(aw thank you very much! Even though I get compliments, I love getting new ones from new readers!)**, sakurananachan **(haha you are just too cute! I'm glad that you appreciated that scene because I got some unsettling feedback about that haha!)**, wopsidaisy **(yes I notice that a lot too, that's why I tried to change it up a bit while trying to keep them in character!) **, Akiru chan **(haha I just don't know what to do with curious Naruto! And yea, Itachi killing the parents would be a little cliché, which is something I don't want to be with this story! So I'm happy you like it)**, DieInHell **(NO! No no no no no! There will be no Sasu-raping in my stories! Haha I just don't think that…blah, no! I promise he wasn't raped)**, kittywoman12 **(awww! I'm glad they make you smile! Hope this one is just as good)**,kat10788 **(no hugs or cookies?! Now that's just no fair –pouts- I shouldn't have put any smut in here…haha just kidding)**, mistress0of0sin **(thank you for reviewing! Without people liking my stories, I wouldn't have anywhere to let my plot bunnies run wild!)**, Deathangelebz **(haha I have done my job in confusing you! If you knew the story line, then what would be the point in reading it?)**, Itooshi Koneko **(I hide many many more secrets! I'm just all evil like that! –smiles- and yea, Kakashi knows exactly what he's doing with Sasuke and Naruto…another secret I'm holding –winks-)**, LovelyNocturnalSunGoddess **(To Sasuke it is a prison I guess…he's completely controlled by his past memories, and so it locks him up inside…sad, I know)**, XSasuXNaruXForeverX **(-gasps- you…gave me a review…that didn't involve lemons!! Hell yeah! Haha just kidding, but I'm happy you are enjoying the plot and stuff)**, mockup **(haha omg! Cracks me up that you called Sasuke a hoe! And sweet, chocolate chip cookies!!! Yum yum!)**, keikopanda102 **(haha yea, the sleeping thing was a definite bonus…not to say the kiss wasn't good either –grins-)**, DaphneRaynard **(god knows how many chapters I'll end up doing…everytime I think I'm going to do something it gets all changed and stuff! Haha but maybe twelve will be reached)**, Nana-Riiko **(haha thanks! I'm just happy that I got out of that rut…even though now I have tons of hw)**, Belward4ever **(haha you might not be thinking that's such a good idea in a couple of episodes…)**, -Nightly Halo- **(you're not a sucker! You just like when our SasuNaru pair is happy like the rest of us!)**, cluelessninja65 **(Mwhaha! I love making you all squirm in confusion. It'll all be answered soon…er or later…-coughs-)**, zerofangirl **(haha Sasuke-ness…if they could sell that in bottles, they'd make millions! Hmm…-thinks of evil plan- nah, Naruto would kill me)**, MasochistandSadist **(haha I love you two! You so brighten my day! And I'm not telling either of you the plot, so be good little fans and wait like the rest!)**, moonlightstar1789 **(haha you people see Oro's name and just assume he's a pedophile! Just because he's the MJ of Naruto…well…I guess that's a good assumption at times…)**, Silver winged firefly **(haha well I'm happy that you enjoy my work and I hope you like this chapter!)**, spiritually-lunar **(If I told you the plotline, then you won't have a reason to keep reading my story! –sighs- and I like your reading!)**, Searafina **(yea Oro is a big old jerk and poor Sasuke is just tugged around for the ride! But everything will work out in the end…I think….-grins-)**, Astheroche **(duh, because it's Sasuke and Naruto! You know you'd be all over that too if you knew two sexy boys were alone together!)**, Usagi wanco **(aw thanks so much! I don't think I'm a very good role model though haha!)**, asdf **(…well, I'm sure you won't expect it….doesn't mean you'll be really happy about it though…-hides-)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqueak **(well it gets kinda hot in this one…gah why are you wating for me?! You know I'm slow when it comes to this stuff!! Haha)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(oro will be poppin in and out of the storyline, but he will not be forgotten until his whole story is told! And yea, more past stuff will be coming up soon!)**, fabulousfan **(haha people aren't used to me being able to write longer stories! But yea, I consider anything over either chapters to be an official story)**, Disgruntled Minion **(Yea…about that date….-hides- alright I understand you all love this story so you can't kill me!!)**, Aftonen **(haha yea yea, not like the entire actual series is drama…-sighs- but there is some squeamish stuff in this one)**, ..wings. **(aw well I'm happy/sad I made you tear up! Happy because it means I'm good with emotional crap, sad because I don't like to hear people cry)**, XxFirexDance **(still uberly love this! Seven times? Wow, they certainly got excited! –looks at chapter-…huh…same there too)**, XxMileena-chanxX **(this spork of doom thing is really sounding interesting…I wonder how it is that Kyo seems to know you're going to say it before you even do!)**, gaaranojutsu02 **(haha I'm happy that you enjoyed the IC ness of the story! I don't like reading when they're not how they're supposed to be!)**, norway22 **(oh yea, I'm fine don't worry! Haha I've had this chapter planned out before anything weird went on in my life, but now I'm better than ever!)**, Robyn **(uh…don't explode! Haha I don't want to be charged with your medical bills)**, mivong **(haha maybe you should wait until you read it? Not that I mind the compliment because I don't, but I don't want you to get disappointed!)**, Black-sky-loves-me **(haha yea that does bug me when he's like, completely OOC, it's why I try to keep him normal here)**, Crystalline twine **(haha well I'm embarrassed. But thanks for the sweet comment!)**, 5angel **(I think that they're both worth a little salvia. And I'm happy that you enjoyed the chapter!)**, Kazanari **(haha and of course, as soon as you say that I skip the date I normally put it up by! But work and school are killing me)**, Exorcist-Miranda **(aw Naruto has his moments where he's extremely smart…they are just never when he's around Sasuke!)**, Naruto-is-life **(haha well I'm happy that you enjoyed my chapters! And knowing that they are getting better as it goes along is very good)**, Chiaki Megumi **(you were around the 400th reviewer, so congrats to you! And you weren't late, don't worry! I'm actually late…-sweatdrops)**, hollowsmile **(haha the teme thing seems to be a favorite for people! =) that means it was all worth it)**, Heres your Cheese Omelette **(thanks so much for the nice review! And I'm happy that you enjoyed how I structured the story, that makes me smile)**, cassana-do **(haha I love the Oro part! I can't spell it either without my Microsoft word! You are just too funny!)**, pebbles of the sand **(alright, you're asking for it! Haha no I'm just kidding, but I hope that this chapter surpasses the epic 5th chapter!)**, Justsoyouknow **(yea I was going to use that, but I can't review to people who don't have an actual account! Which wouldn't be fair)**, EdSpikeSesshyGirl **(well I try to get them out as soon as I can, because I have no life! Haha but I'm hoping that you enjoy the story either way)**, roxxihearts **(haha you've been a review bee! I'm so happy that you've picked up my story, and don't worry…Oro creeps me out at times too)**, Lydia-chan **(well isn't that a part of the mystery? Haha no, as of right now they just left him! But will that change? Hm…I wonder…crap wait, I'm supposed to know aren't I?)**, friglit **(of course they're falling to the sexual tension! Look at who their damn therapist is!)**, robin Maxwell **(you're not the last one this time! So cookie for you –hands cookie- and yea, the crime scene photos will come back in later, so don't worry about it!)**, Poruchik Potter **( I wouldn't say I was better than anyone else who was writing SasuNaru fics, but thanks a lot for the compliments! They made me smile)**, 7thtreasure **(haha you're too funny with all your comments! And don't get a nosebleed silly!)**, LillyYuri **(…why do I always get blamed when people skip class…seriously, you're like the third person so say that haha! Pretty soon I'll have the president at my door going 'stop writing fics')**, Elin Sweeden **(Oh wow thanks for the really sweet compliment! Haha I don't think I'm that special but I'm glad that I entertain you!) **, xXPixiexxStikXx **(opps! Sorry, I didn't mean to make that day sad or anything! But I'm happy that you are enjoying the story)**, Nikotehfox **(haha I think that a dead guy would be distracted by Naruto! He's sex on legs)**, HeartofRaven **(haha yea…about that whole 'date' thing….gah I'm not a nice person!)**, dreamevil **(GAH ! Don't skip school! People need to stop using me as an excuse to skip school!)**, Nefarious61 **(haha Naruto should have been a damn priest with all of the semons that he gives…but then he couldn't be with Sasuke so…)**, Magentadusk **(yea I've taken it and a communication class, so I know all about this stuff! It's pretty cool!)**, Kawaii-no-naruto **(I know! He should start charging rent to people…it's like a damn party in his tummy!)**, Imou **(yea, I think they're starting to think of their punishment as less of a punishment and more of a pleasurement!)**, fanficlunatic234 **(AWWWW –hugs- thanks so much for the sweet review!! Haha don't be scared of me, I really don't bite! Or I try not to! But I'm happy you are liking the stories)**, Insanity needs a Kanshisha **(haha well maybe that's one reason, but I never said there was only one answer behind Sasuke's motives)**, DarkestFlameUchiha **(haha well theres more of that yummy stuff in this chapter, so don't you worry!) **, Paige Taylor **(I love shortcake, so I figured I'd have Naruto make the most yummy shortcake ever! And apparently I have a hunger effect on people!)**, Maryana Uzumaki **(dude, you can never have too much Naruto! The little fuzzball is just too hot to not want more!)**, **and **RasalynnLynx **(yea normally I would have updated yesterday for this story, but I kind of got messed up this week with personal issues! Sorry!)**.**

Big old thanks to** Sasuchan** for making it so much fun to have a beta! So anything else…huh…oh! There's a **poll **on my Author site about my next work! So go tell me what you want me to write!

**Warning:**** There is some boyxboy stuffies…almost as yummy as Naruto's shortcake! Oh, and please don't kill me for this chapter =)**

**Disclaimer:**** -looks through all the other disclaimers- I could…no, done that….how about…nope, already did a priest joke…damnit…-waves readers away- I don't own him, now go away and get nosebleeds…have I used—wait yup…**

**Goodbye Normal, Hello Chaos**

Have I ever mentioned how cute Sasuke looked when he slept? Probably not, since I just admitted it myself. I blame it on my biased hormones. You really can't get an accurate opinion on Sasuke, I decided. If you were a girl, you were hooked to his looks. If you were a straight guy, you were somehow destined to hate Sasuke. I mean really, if you knew that your girlfriend thought of someone else, wouldn't you get pissed too? Now if you're a gay guy, it's even worse. Because not only do you like the cold bastard for his looks, but you're able to sneak glances of him changing in gym or you can slap his ass in sports and not get any sexual harassment charges. Sure he'd probably kill you with one of his glares, but I'm sure some guys would risk it.

He's still pissed me off a lot more than anyone else I had met. His personality could be compared to a snake's. Bear traps had a more welcoming aura, and I'm pretty sure if we sent the jerk to the Arctic, he could help stop global warming with a few glares. That wasn't the only thing he could probably do, after all, he was Uchiha Sasuke. He could probably save kids from cancer and find a way to stop world hunger if he put enough effort into it. He'd do all of this while posing in a Calvin Klein picture and explaining how to stop the war in Iraq in four days. _And_ he'd be an ass during the entire thing.

Or that's what everyone thought. Taking one look at Sasuke instantly screamed 'prick' and not 'help'. Really the two were easy to mix up. Well, at least they were with a stoic bastard like him. I paused for a moment before I shook my head. He wasn't stoic; it was just a façade he put up so that people wouldn't get into this barricade he made. I mean, if I learned this much about him in one night, I shivered to think what the fangirls would do to his room. Probably search through all of his stuff, take notes and pictures, and then try to cuddle him and coo at how 'hot' it was when Sasuke was angry. They didn't give a _damn _about him, they never did. Maybe Sasuke was more popular than I was, but what was the point of having so many people around when none of them really cared about you as a person? To them, Uchiha Sasuke wasn't a teenage boy, but a prize. A…a trophy.

I guess I clenched my fists too tightly, because I felt the pen in my hand indent. Well, that and Sasuke's hot breath brushed my ear while the muscles in his arm flexed closer to my stomach. Instantly I loosened the grip on his arm in order to rub the part I had held with my thumb to try and put my energy into something other than bruising him. I mean really, with pale skin like his it didn't take much. I slowly looked down to watch how much contrast there was between my hand and his arm. He really was a ghost, and I guessed even if he spent all day outside, he'd never be able to change that. It just didn't seem possible. But I could see the goose bumps when I gently trailed the tips of my fingernails over the sensitive skin, and I grinned. He really was sensitive, wasn't he?

I turned my attention away from the reacting skin in order to look down at the writing I had made on the paper. Why Sasuke kept a calculus notebook on his nightstand I'd never get. He was most likely working on it before he went to bed one day, but then again you couldn't be sure with him. I didn't look at the notes he had made. For all I really knew, he just wrote 'Calculus' to throw people off from what it really was. After last night, I wasn't ready to tackle the rest of his past yet. Besides, I was focusing on the present right now.

"So let's see…that's twenty more…shit," I mumbled, biting the pen's cap while I worked. Math was never my strong suit. "This is going to be like…two days of work alone. He better fucking appreciate this."

He probably wouldn't. He'd just glare at me, cross his arms and go 'it's your own fault, dobe'. Yeah, he'd add that nickname too, because he didn't seem to mind saying it last night. I sighed quietly and looked back at him, my glare losing its edge when I watched black strands brush the bridge of his nose. Rolling my eyes, I shut the notebook and wiggled my way to turn on my back, ignoring my own blushing when I skimmed my fingers along his forehead. His hair really was soft.

Feeling slightly bolder than I wanted to admit, I let the curious fingertips slowly slide over his temple and into the silky texture. Really his hair was completely different from mine. I mentally scoffed and flicked one of the wild pieces of black. Mine was never tame, extremely thick and easy to get your hand stuck in if you weren't careful. But the bastard in front of me had soft, fine hair. Maybe it was his hair products? I leaned closer, taking a soft sniff and blinking. Wow, I finally found a part of him that didn't smell quite like cinnamon! It seemed to confirm that his body shampoo was to blame. His hair was more of an apple scent. Cinnamon and apple? Oh great, Sasuke's a box of Apple Jacks. No wonder I got so hungry around him!

I fought back a sneeze when his hair brushed my nose, and it was only then I realized Sasuke's change in position. His body seemed to find comfort in the warmth my chest was giving off. The move was subtle, nothing that would wake him from the deep sleep he was in. But the increase of my heartbeat that now rested against his ear could be another story. I tried not to blush as I turned my head up to the ceiling, closing my eyes when half of his chest rested against my side. Just when did Sasuke turn on his stomach? The hand that had once rested comfortably around my waist now slid to rest in the middle of my chest, making my breath catch for a moment. I opened my eyes partly to glare at the ceiling. Someone up there really made Sasuke way too touchy in his sleep.

Not that my body seemed to mind the extra contact. I then sent a glare down toward my hips, which were mostly out of view, courtesy of Sasuke. Even if I couldn't see, I knew I was starting to get aroused. I groaned quietly and dropped my head back onto the pillow, wishing that it was a brick wall. Pain always won over arousal, which I had learned the extremely hard way when I fell out of my bed doing some 'exercises'. Yeah, hard-ons and floors do not like each other very much. I shook my head to destroy the memory. Alright, that had helped.

I felt his gentle breathing against my chest, and I mentally wondered what Sasuke would do if he saw himself like this. He had always been independent, never wanting to lean on others for help. Well duh, I guess I could see why. I looked down at him and felt a part of me wince at how unguarded Sasuke was when he slept. Everything and everyone that was supposed to protect him had been taken away. I guess it made sense that he didn't want to rely on people anymore. Frowning, I slid my arm to rest over his back while my hand skimmed along his arm again. He seemed to like the attention, because a quiet sigh slipped from his mouth. Even if he didn't mentally want others to come near him, it didn't mean his body was in agreement.

"You idiot…" I whispered, pressing my forehead against the top of his head. My eyes slipped to half mast, letting my fingers continue to touch the porcelain skin. I should have been humiliated. Actually, I realized my cheeks were flushed, and that if I sat on the idea, I'd probably come to the conclusion I was a bit embarrassed. But other, more demanding feelings were starting to cloud my mind. Maybe I was being childish too, letting Sasuke press close to me. But I needed it. No, _we _needed it. _We_ needed physical comfort. I always knew that if I ever had someone in my bed, I'd never want them to leave. I just never expected the feelings to be so strong with someone like Sasuke. I wondered if the bastard thought about our situation as much as I did. I thought about him a lot more than I should have. But watching my fingers glide along Sasuke's arm, and feeling almost protective of him made me feel really good. Better than I had in a while. Better than I ever had felt about Sakura or any other girl I pictured laying with. "Sasuke…"

"Do you grope everyone you sleep with?" I snapped my head back from his, ignoring the slight pain in my neck from the quick movement as I waited for him to glare up at me. But he didn't even brush my stilled fingers off of his arm. "Well?"

"I don't sleep with people every night. Girls are too busy gawking at your ugly ass to even glance at me." He snorted and I felt the air warm a spot through my shirt. Throwing my caution to the wind, I slowly resumed my previous stroking. If he didn't like it, he'd shove me away or something. Besides, he couldn't exactly call me the aggressor when he was snuggled into my chest and seeming to enjoy the subtle contact I was making. We wouldn't even be in this position if he didn't have to cuddle.

"Why do you have my notebook?" I glanced over to the red cover before turning my attention back to him. I blushed a bit when he seemed to burrow closer to my side. It was only then I realized that Sasuke's voice was dripping in sleep, and he was probably still trying to fully wake up. After all, this was the only time I had ever really seen him wake up on his own accord. The first time I was downstairs, and the second I had forced him awake with my shouting. His unusual willingness to chat and ask questions should have tipped me off sooner about how out of it he was. Seeing the proud Uchiha yawn and rub his eye like a child almost made me want to shout out my favorite insult to him.

"I was just writing down some stuff. I didn't go through it if that's what you're wondering."

"It's a calculus notebook; you wouldn't understand what's in it anyways." Damn him! I was going to yell at him until his sleepy voice entered my mind again. "Why are you so warm?"

"Hell if I know."

"Hn." Finally Sasuke lifted his head, and I could see the last remnants of sleep disappear from his eyes. But he still hadn't gotten off of me yet. "I want my clothes washed and ready for me tonight."

"What?! Why can't you just wash them?"

"Because you're wearing them."

"I meant after I change you asshole!"

"Into what, exactly?" I opened my mouth to argue, but stopped. Looking to the floor, I could see the flour-covered clothing I had worn to his house, and remembered the mess we had made. Scowling, I glared back at his smirk.

"Shut up and get off of me."

"I would if your arm wasn't currently holding me down." How did he always outsmart me?! I yanked the arm back and he casually pushed away from me, stretching like a cat. He sure was flexible. I felt my body shiver when his back bent enough to make an arch with his spine. Shaking my head, I quickly looked up at the ceiling to ignore his actions.

"You snuggle."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I looked back down to see him glaring at me from the edge of the bed, seeming to be completely disgusted at what I was saying. Grinning, I crawled over to the scowling boy and flicked his forehead. "You are a cuddler."

"That's not even a real word."

"…Doesn't matter! You cuddle!"

"I do not _cuddle._"

"I'll show you!" I glared at him and moved over to his bookshelf, glancing through the boring titles until I got to what I wanted. Grabbing the dictionary, I jerked the pages open and started to flipped through the 'C' section.

"You know how to use that?" I should have also looked up 'asshole' and scribbled Sasuke's name under it, but I was too concentrated on proving him wrong to look for where I threw my pen. I skimmed my finger down the long list of pointless words that I'd never use until I finally got to the one I wanted.

"Cuddle. To lie close and snuggle, or to curl up in going to sleep." I smirked and slammed the book shut with both of my hands as I looked up at him. "You not only curl up in your sleep, but you always fucking molest me!"

"…Hn." Ha! I'd finally done it! I practically jumped into the air over the only victory that truly mattered to me. I had finally beaten Sasuke at his own game. I was mentally patting myself on the back, until his voice shot through my head. "Look up the definition for 'embrace'."

"What? Why?" I didn't like the sudden superior look that Sasuke could hold even if his cheeks were dusted with pink. Whenever I blushed I just looked like an even bigger idiot. But with Sasuke, it almost _worked _for him. Damn that perfect Uchiha nature!

"Do it…" I felt myself tense at his drawn out statement, knowing what should fall next. After all, it was almost like a formula for us. We say our sentence, and the insult to make sure the sting is the last thing to be felt. Unless we're going for the sneak attack, in which we put it at the front so that the sting is unexpected. However, lately waiting for an insult was more of a game. Waiting to see which one of us would slip up. Waiting to see who would start the next attack, and how it would end. Waiting for that contact that was starting to make my mouth dry just thinking about it. In fact, he seemed to even enjoy the silence between us before he parted his small lips. "Idiot."

"You…" I shoved my face back into the book, intending to dispel any blush I had collected at his arrogant smirk. Stupid bastard and his stupid smirks. Whoever taught him to do that seriously needed to go back in time and never teach him it. I continued to mentally curse the unknown person while I worked on finding the stupid jerk's information. What was with the command anyways? Who cared what 'embrace' meant? If anything, it would just prove he was snuggling with me. Even the dictionary had used embrace as a synonym for cuddle.

"You find it?" I placed my finger under the word and looked up at him, keeping my eyes trained on his lithe form when he stood. He waited until his body faced mine, the only thing standing between us being his bed. Somehow I had managed to return to my side of the mattress, my legs pressing against the side slightly while I clung onto the book.

"Yeah."

"Read the first definition." But he didn't seem to want to let go of my gaze. The contradiction between his words and actions was making my head spin. Not that I was going to let him know that. I strengthened my glare before turning my attention back to the definition in front of me in order to shut him up.

"Embrace. To take or clasp…" Even if I didn't look up I knew his smirk was practically beaming from the dying off of my voice. I heard him walking around the bed, his faint footsteps able to be heard in the silence.

"Continue."

"Don't order me around!" I snapped out, glaring up at him. He now stood next to me, staring down with those intense eyes that seriously pissed me off. He already knew the damn definition.

"You started this." And as if to mock me from earlier, he casually lifted his hand and flicked my forehead. I winced and stepped back, not prepared for the random act. Somehow that seemed to amuse him more than my lack of continuation with the sentence, because he smirked and turned to walk toward the bathroom. "I finished it."

I glared a hole in his back the entire time he walked away, silently wishing he'd trip or hit into the door. But he was Uchiha Sasuke, which meant that nothing like that could happen to him. His strides were slow but sharp, and he easily slid the bathroom door open to leave me alone in his room. It was only after he shut the door behind him that I physically reacted to the fact that once again, Sasuke had beaten me. I threw the dictionary across the room as I stormed over to my clothes, snatching them under my arm. I wasn't going to wait for the bastard to kick me out of the house, I'd leave myself. So what if I didn't have a car; I'd walk the damn couple of miles to get home. There was no way I was going to ask _him _for a ride now that he'd accused me of doing something worse than cuddling.

Embrace. To take or clasp in the arms; to press to the bosom; to _hug._ The bastard actually accused me to _embracing _him while he slept. I wanted to kill him and die of embarrassment at the same time. So yeah, he was in my arms. And one of those arms kind of pressed him to my chest. Maybe if it was Ino or Sakura it'd be considered a hug. But Sasuke? Why would I ever want to embrace him?! It's not like I asked for him to lay on me! It's not like I encouraged it! It's not like I rewarded him by stroking his arm and holding him!

…Damnit. I stopped shoving my foot into my shoe as the idea hit me like a ton of bricks. Every time he had snuggled, I had let him. And not only had I let him, but I somehow gave his body an incentive to continue that behavior. When the first morning came around, I didn't exactly leave. I let him snuggle into me for a while before I made my stealthy escape. But still, the promise of warmth plunged us into the second encounter. Not only did he get that warmth, but the heat certainly increased when our bodies uh…over heated under the blankets. For his second attempt, unconscious Sasuke got heat and a pleasurable feeling. Now, following the stupid pattern, of course his body would instantly cuddle with me whenever conscious Sasuke conked out! This last time, I had even wrapped my arm around him and rubbed his arm. I hadn't been finding ways to stop the encounters. I had been…

Well, _embracing _them. By now my ass had planted itself on the floor in front of the front door, glaring at anything I could. What else was I supposed to do? Sasuke beat me in ways I was sure he didn't even realize. He was too smart for his own good. I gave a slow glance to the clock on his wall and instantly swore when I saw what time it was. Damnit, I was going to be late for work if I didn't get my ass moving!

"Shit!" I groaned and stuffed my foot into my shoe completely, ignoring the asshole that was now entering the hallway in favor of running out of the door. I didn't have time to fight with him anyways; I'd have plenty of chances during the movie.

And those chances seemed to come much faster than I thought. I started to gather my stuff while I called Ino, begging her to give me a ride to pick up my car from the Central. She easily obliged only after I promised to get ready at her house and tell her everything that happened last night. I only agreed after promising to keep Sasuke's personal information out of the conversation. I had changed in the backseat of her car, sped the entire way to work, and managed to clock in four seconds before I would have been considered late.

Work was crazy, even for a Saturday. Not only were we hit with several groups of kids coming from god knows where, but a bus of twenty hockey players decided they deserved to stop at a real restaurant to eat after winning their game against their main competitors. I only knew this because a couple of them had continued to boast about how great they were in the game. I just sat back and tried to pretend I was interested about them and not the fact that clock was currently at 5:34 and I was supposed to be going out with my friends in a little while. Thankfully, the business seemed to die down after the players left, and it was only a matter of time before I was clocking out and moving into gramp's office to say goodbye.

"I'm going out tonight." He looked up from the papers on his desk, and I surprised to see how focused he had been. "What are you working on?"

"Nothing you need to worry about squirt." He shuffled the papers away too fast for me to read, and I rolled my eyes. Great, he was probably looking at porno again. "And where are you going anyways? It's not like you to go out after work."

"Yeah well, Ino dragged me into another one of her 'great ideas', and I wasn't really able to say no. I'm heading out to the movies with her, Shikamaru, and…and a couple other people. Nobody real important." I really didn't feel like explaining to the biggest pervert alive (except maybe Kakashi…they were pretty even I guess) how I had been tricked into going on a 'kind-of-sort of-not-really' date with Sasuke. It was bad enough that I actually had to go through with it.

"So you and Sasuke are getting along better." How…did people..._do that?! _Was there a manual that everyone else got to read that I didn't? Between Kakashi, Ino, Sasuke, and gramps, I felt like my life was some television show that people watched without me knowing. You know, like Truman Burbank in the movie _The Truman Show_. Except instead of having a hot babe come tell me about the whole set-up, I got Sasuke passing the popcorn to two perverts and smirking!

"When did I even say his name?"

"You didn't, and that's the point." I blinked and he grinned at his own riddle. "Don't worry so much about how everything works, kid. Just know it does and move on."

"You should work for a fortune cookie business with all the bullshit you spew," I said flatly, narrowing my eyes when he laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"You know, there was a time you looked up to me. And one day when I'm gone, you're going to realize what a great role model you had."

"Whatever," I mumbled, with more emotion than I wanted. Gramps was far from dying, but that didn't mean I wanted to think about it. He was the only family I had left. And a pervert was better company than nobody. Except for granny, who would rather eat an electric eel than be stuck alone with him. But they were a completely different package. I slung my backpack full of crap I needed to get ready with and walked toward the door of the office. "I already know you're not closing up tonight, so I won't bother to ask. Swing by the house tonight and water my plants in case I stay at Shikamaru's tonight. The last thing I need is to come home to dead plants while you're off drinking your ass to hell."

"Will do." Which meant I had a fifty percent chance of him actually doing it. But even if the plants went another day without my care, they wouldn't completely die. Still, I knew how pissed I'd be if someone took my ramen away for two days. And since I hadn't planned on staying at Sasuke's last night, I didn't bother to think about it before I left with Ino for the basketball game. I sighed and took the hint when he shooed me with one of his hands. "Now go meet up with your friends squirt. Oh, and don't use your little pet name for Sasuke while you're out in public. I'm guessing that would be bad for both of you right now."

"It's not a damn pet name!" I paused for a second and then blushed when I realized the last part of his sentence. "And how did you find out about that anyways?!"

"I've told you before; I enjoy my visits with my old time friend."

"Did she tell you before or after she beat you up?" I was wondering why his face seemed swollen.

"Don't dismiss her talent so easily. She's quiet good at multitasking. And how beautiful she is when she's being aggressive."

"You're such a pervert."

"I like to consider myself a man with an eye for beauty." Only he would take something so wrong and turn it into something completely different.

"I'll be sure to write that on your tombstone." He seemed pleased with my sarcastic comment, but I decided not to even question it as I headed toward my car. I was supposed to be at Ino's already. I was actually surprised she hadn't bothered to call me yet. Surprised, but not ungrateful. After last night, my ear was afraid to go near the phone when I knew Ino was on the other line.

"Uzumaki Naruto you're fifteen minutes late!" I smiled in what I hoped to be an apologetic manner when the blond pouted through the mirror facing her door. She only held my gaze for a second before she turned back to the mirror, finishing that gunk she always put on to 'enhance her eyes' or something like that. "What the hell took you so long?"

"Relax, it's not like I really need to do anything. I've just gotta borrow your shower and change, it ain't no biggie."

"Not that. You have to tell me what happened last night." Oh, yeah. Not wanting to repeat the memories just yet, I shrugged and started to shift through my bag to grab my shampoos, deodorant, and clothes before I dumped the rest onto her bed. Skimming to make sure I didn't need anything else, I winked at Ino and moved through the house I had memorized. It felt good to wash the smell of the restaurant off of my body, especially since I had spilled some of the onion soup onto my shirt a half hour before I had left. I made sure to scrub twice with Old Spice just to keep the onion order from seeping through. I finished cleaning and changed into the clothes Ino had stuffed into my bag earlier.

I blinked when I finally looked in the mirror, grinning at myself. I was really too hot for my own safety. The button up shirt cuffed around my elbows, and the white made my chest look broad but not bulky. I actually liked being leaner than some of the guys in my school, mainly because I could pull off tighter jeans without looking overstuffed or lanky. I fingered the necklace that hung around my neck, the greenish-blue crystal standing out against the white shirt. It was the last present that my parents had gotten me before they disappeared. Remembering the promise I made to wear it no matter what happened made me think that my parents realized they were leaving weeks before they actually disappeared. It made sense I guess. They must have had some place already mapped out to stay in before they left. I clenched my hand against the gem before I smiled at my reflection, nodding once and returning back to Ino's room.

She glanced up at me from her seat, her hair now pulled up into her normal ponytail with her bangs in the front. Her blue sweater matched her eyes and curved along her nicely, the sleeves' ends tightening around the middle of her bicep. The beige skirt she wore barely moved when she spun around once and giggled.

"So what? Am I hot or what?"

"You know, if you had this much damn confidence, why the hell am I here?!" She rolled her eyes and moved forward, starting to fidget with the outfit she picked out for me. Really she was more fascinated with how the buttons look on my shirt than the actual conversation we were having. Instantly I got restless.

"Because being confident in how I look is only on part of the date! Besides, don't you ever just lose your nerve when you're with Sasuke?"

"Well duh, all the time! He'll just sit there and be all cocky because he's an Uchiha and the—wait, wait, wait! Me and Sasuke are _nothing _like you and Shikamaru!" She laughed at my late reaction, which made me flush. And if anyone asked, I'd say it was from the anger.

"So speaking of Sasuke, what trouble did he stir up last night?" Well, at least she knew he was the problem, and not the other way around. I waited until she finally pulled away from my clothes to talk.

"We…he…he said it." She blinked once, and I hated that I had to actually voice what neither Sasuke or I had talked about. "He called me dobe."

"Oh wow…he said it first?" I blushed when I realized that assumption wasn't completely true. Alright, it wasn't true at all. But I wasn't going to just give her this information.

"What do you mean _first_?!" She ignored my anger as she moved over to her bed, her fingers tapping against her lower lip.

"Well…how was it?" Why was she not more surprised? As if reading my mind (and further convincing me they had probed my brain for the television show), Ino rolled her eyes. "You can't expect me to think that both of you would keep your mouths shut when your therapist gave you the perfect excuse to kiss."

"Yeah, I can."

"So tell me, what's it like to kiss a legend of Konoha high school?" I should have lied. Should have just said that he had tasted disgusting and I had to brush my teeth several times after I kissed him to get rid of the germs that plagued my mouth. Really all of this was on the tip of my tongue. But watching how happy she seemed to be for me, especially since I wasn't even sure if I was happy with the situation yet, made me slowly sigh.

"Which time?" I was yanked to the bed to sit in front of Ino, the girl giggling or practically squealing at every flushed comment I made. Sadly she made me go through every kiss, from the parking lot up until the almost fight me and Sasuke had. I made sure to keep out why we had the fight, but Ino was too excited for the actual 'meat' of the story to care. She instantly turned guilty when she realized why the last kiss ended so abruptly.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. If I had known you were having a moment you know I would never have called!" I tried to rub the blush from my cheeks while I shook my head.

"Please, you're better than Sasuke anytime." She rolled her eyes, but still smiled at my compliment.

"So if you both used the nicknames to—"

"Damnit they're not nicknames!"

"-to kiss, then why haven't you actually _told _him you like him?"

"I never said I did."

"But you kissed him, three times might I add." I sighed a bit and stared at the wall across from us, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Really girls had to analyze every little piece of information you gave them to see what was really going on. With guys, I could just tell them my situation and they'd accept it for what I said it was. Kiba wouldn't ask me about my 'feelings' and crap like that. He'd just tell me to suck it and pass the ball to him or something. But Kiba and Ino were two completely different stories, and she didn't seem satisfied with my silence. "And one of those you started."

"I was protecting myself from getting killed."

"Why didn't you just hit him like you always do?"

"Because!" She quirked an eyebrow and I smacked my forehead with my hand. This was why I didn't like talking about shit. "I don't know; kissing him was the first thing that came to mind."

"And yet you say you don't like him? Because normally, I don't go around thinking of kissing boys that I don't even like." She dropped her voice down, probably to show she was assisting instead of attacking. Tense muscles slowly unwound and I looked back at her, my elbow resting on my thigh with my forehead in my hand.

"I didn't think about the teme at all until this whole stupid therapist thing started."

"It doesn't matter how it started you knucklehead. It just matters how it feels now." She smiled before she moved off the bed, glancing to the several pairs of shoes that she had scattered through her room. "Now should I wear the heels? They're classy, but then I'd have to put nylons on."

"What?" I blinked in slight surprise at her sudden subject change. "You're dropping it? Just like that?"

"Well I'm not going to keep beating a dead horse. You're too stubborn to listen to anything I say, so you're just going to have to find it out on your own before you understand what I mean. Hmm…the beige boots would be cute!" I watched the happy blond grab the boots, moving back to the bed so she could slip on the fuzzy boots.

"Ino…" She glanced up at me from her bent position, seeming completely lost as to the softer tone of my voice. "Thanks."

"No problem, Naruto! But now you better play nice on your date or else I'm going to have to stuff you into the water fountain at the mall!" I laughed despite the threat and the slight embarrassment I felt at her officially calling it a 'date'. Mainly because neither me nor Sasuke had actually agreed to call it that.

"Yeah yeah, I'll try." I heard a faint chime ring through the house, and Ino instantly jumped from the bed.

"They're here! How on earth did Sasuke get Shikamaru here on time?"

"He's an Uchiha," I said, rolling my eyes. "He has a way of making people do things they don't want to."

"And making people want things they normally don't, apparently." I threw a pillow at her when she ran out of the room, quickly chasing after the laughing girl. She had barely opened the door before I tackled her onto the couch, being careful not to actually hurt her before I started my tickle attack. "N-no! Naruto st-st-stop!"

"Never!" Ino squealed like—and she'd kill me if I ever said it out loud—a pig. I didn't stop tickling her even when Shikamaru and Sasuke entered the house, one of them almost seeming unsure of what to do next. Which was strange, since Sasuke always seemed to have control over his position in a situation.

"Troublesome." But Shikamaru had walked in on me and Ino 'attacking' each other way too many times for it to be considered abnormal to him. Instead, he ignored Ino's squeaks in order to make himself comfortable in the chair in front of the television.

"Ouch!" I yelped when I fell off of the couch, my ass hitting the hard floor. Seriously, my butt got bruised more than any other part of my body. I glared up at the panting girl who now was flushed from the attack. She sent me a glare that clearly screamed revenge. And stupid me only grinned and shrugged. "What'cha going to do, sick your lazy ass date on me?"

"No, I'll sick your own date on you!" I blinked once in confusion when she casually stood up from the couch, brushing her outfit off casually as if she hadn't just been completely owned. But sending one evil smile my way, she turned her attention to the silent guy near the door. "Sasuke?"

"What?" No fair! She got actual words spoken to her. Normally I just got grunts! He didn't seem to notice my glare as he turned his gaze to the practically beaming girl standing next to me.

"Naruto called you a 'teme' today." My eyes widened and my jaw practically dropped to the floor at her nonchalant sentence.

"What?! You…you backstabber!" She glanced over to my flustered face and winked, leaning down to tap my nose.

"All is fair in love and war. And you started a war the second you ruined my hair." I glanced to her ponytail and fumed at the bullshit she was feeding me.

"It's not like anyone is going to see it for long! We're going to a damn movie, not the red carpet." But there was no remorse in her eyes as she straightened again, clapping her hands together and smiling.

"Since our movie doesn't start until 9:30, we don't have to leave for a little bit. Let's have dinner before the movie, okay? Shikamaru, will you come help me with the preparations? I'm sure Naruto will be a little busy." I would have strangled her if she didn't move away from me at that exact moment, making me fall over to my side on the ground. I heard Shikamaru step over me, and I glared at the silent traitor.

"You just want to make out with him in the kitchen!" I caught a sudden change of color in Ino's cheeks before she disappeared behind the wall, leaving me and the bastard alone when Shikamaru followed. Pushing up to sit, I brushed off my shirt and glared at the wall dividing us from the kitchen. "Damn that girl. Can't tell her a thing without going off and blabbing about it."

"Idiot." I looked up at Sasuke, watching his natural swagger when he approached me. The serious look in his eyes sent a slow shiver down my spine. Well, maybe it was the black-on-grey outfit he wore. His sleeved v-neck shirt hugged along his body, confirming the theory that black truly is the best color to make you look good. He really didn't need help. The grey jeans were loose but form fitting, making sure to prove their owner had completed the whole 'sex god' look. Not to say I thought like that, because I didn't! I jerked my eyes back to his face despite the need to explore the landscape further.

"Huh?"

"What were you thinking?" He crouched in front of me, his arms resting along his thighs while he stared down at me. Nervously I crossed my legs in front of me and leaned back on my arms.

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" This time, at least. I could tell he was thinking the same thing, so I rushed into my next sentence. "Plus I said it to Ino! Why the hell does that count?"

"The same reason it counted for Sakura." I blinked once, and he scoffed at my lack of intelligence. "The parking lot."

"_That's _why you kissed me?" I completely forgot about my conversation with Sakura. Really, it was amazing how fast things left my mind when I talked and argued with him. How could I have not realized he had heard me call him teme with Sakura? I ignored the slight clenching of my heart to focus on him.

"It was required, wasn't it?"

"Yeah I guess. It's not like I'm saying it directly to you though!"

"You're still saying it." I glanced to the ground, as if trying to avoid what he was saying. But really, I should have known that an Uchiha would not deal lightly with avoidance. "Look at me."

"Why should I?" I really didn't care about looking at him. I just wanted to fight. Arguing was easier to deal with than this. I clenched my hands on my thighs and shook my head. "This whole situation is stupid. I swear someone up there hates me!"

"Regret is the most pointless emotion to have." I winced at how sharp his voice had gotten. It was what made me lift my head to look up at his cold glare and hesitate. Seeing I wasn't talking, he scoffed. "You can't change what's been done. Just forget it if it bothers you that much, idiot."

"It's not…regret."

"Then you don't know the definition." I clenched my teeth before shoving him hard enough for him to fall back onto his ass. He was probably more stunned that I shoved him than the fact his shoulders were probably screaming from the harsh hit into the side of the couch. I didn't give him time to recover before I slammed my hands above his shoulders, my legs straddling his body. If I had bothered to look at myself, I would have realized I was practically being cradled in his lap from the way his knees were bent. I would have also noticed how my arms rested on his shoulders without any rhyme or reason. I guess my body was used to being pressed to his, because I didn't feel awkward being this close to him.

"I know what regret means damnit! It's when you wanna go back and change something; it's when you feel your life would be better if something was different! If you acted a different way, if you changed the wording of something, I know what that means asshole. And no, I don't regret us." I kept his gaze with mine because I could easily tell how badly he wanted to call me a liar. The slight narrowing of his eyes gave it away to me.

"Us?" But he didn't sound disgusted. Not at all.

"Us, we, this. Whatever you want to call it. I don't really care what we say it is. I just…we…I don't think I regret what's happened. I mean if I did, then it wouldn't have happened again, right?" There was a pause that signaled me to continue. "I shouldn't have said it was stupid, I know that. My mouth sort of rambles and shit when I get worked up. I just don't really know what_ it_ is. I mean damn…we're us, y'know?" I wasn't making much sense. Still, we both knew what I was trying to say. Maybe I expected him to scoff and push me off of him. It was what he probably would have done with any of his fangirls that jumped him. But I slowly skimmed my hands down the couch to grip onto his shoulders when delicate fingers slid through the back of my hair. I shivered, but kept my eyes open as I squeezed his shoulders in my hands. It wasn't until he felt secure enough with his grip that he moved, pulling my mouth down to his. Or maybe I kissed him first, I wasn't really sure.

What I was sure off was the fact that his mouth had a numbing affect on my body, which easily slid me from my knees to fully settle in his lap. He didn't seem to mind, but pressed his hand to my hip in order to push me into a more comfortable position. Neither of us submitted to the other, keeping our mouths shut while I leaned closer to his body. The shift forward brought a soft moan from my lips, easily remembering now where my hips were located. The electric surge that went through me distracted my mind long enough for him to enter my mouth, easily starting to increase the kiss. My eyes slammed shut when another squirm increased the unusual heat in my body. He slid his tongue along the inside of my cheek before retreating, parting our lips to allow me to breath. I panted heavily, finally lifting my eyelids to see his arrogant smirk staring back at me. His eyes were half-lidded, and despite the slight color in his cheeks, I could tell he was satisfied with his handiwork. I growled and quickly decided to even the score.

Why I went for his neck, I wasn't sure. I was probably as uncertain about the hesitant kissing on his pulse as he was about the fingers up my shirt. I shivered at the sensation I felt crawling through my stomach while pale digits blazed a trail along my chest. He just had to outdo me. The moan I released vibrated along his skin, causing a weak groan to fill my ears. I should have pulled away and collected my thoughts of how I was wrong and this was _very _wrong. How me and Sasuke were both messed up right now, and we were _guys _for the gods' sake! But any type of strength I had mustered up to pull away from my necking was shattered when his fingertips encountered my nipple. I sucked in a breath, which caused a delicious suction along his neck that filled my mouth with his cinnamon skin. I shuddered against his fingers before arching into the touch, no longer caring what the logical side of me said. All I knew was we both moaned at the sudden rolling of my hips.

His hand grabbed my chin, pulling me from the location on his neck to permanently glue our lips together. I was choking from the lack of air or the feeling of his hips finally pressing back to mine. I wasn't sure. I didn't care. I couldn't breathe because of Sasuke, and that was all that really mattered for me to accept my suffocation and continue to kiss him back. I released one of his shoulders, slipping the hand along his clothed stomach and marveling at how his muscles twitched underneath my palm. And I was stupid enough to fight this guy? I hissed into the kiss when a slight touch of my fingertips on his bared stomach made his hips jerk up into mine. The sensation of having him underneath me, without blood or bruising, was scary. I couldn't seem to catch my breath or get enough of him. His hands felt like fire, burning over every part of my skin he touched. Did I do this to him? When had this even started? Was it always there?

"Nya…" I finally broke the kiss and dropped my forehead to his shoulder, continuing to shiver against the hand that was wreaking havoc on my body. If I thought this morning was arousing, I was completely out of my mind now. My body was pulsing in need, and his smooth palm seemed to only edge on the flames. But with my hand spread along his stomach, I knew the rocking had affected him too. His stomach was jerking from his erratic breathing, and my fingertips could barely feel the heavily beating heart just above. He was aroused, I was aroused, we both knew there was something in-between us, and my house was about ten minutes away. As soon as my dazed glance caught his intense stare, I knew we were both on the same path of thought.

Screw the movie.

"Come on." I had never felt so fired up before. I grabbed his wrist and yanked him up, but it was him that kept me standing when my traitorous knees gave out on me. I blushed and he smirked which quickly made me glare. Alright, first we deal with these problems, and then I was going to kick his ass. But now, I just had to settle with insulting him. "Bastard."

"Hn." Even after a super make out he wouldn't form words. Or maybe he couldn't. I grinned at the thought before finally pushing out of his grasp and standing on my own.

"Ino!" It took a few minutes before a blond head peeped out of the kitchen, blinking in shock over something I couldn't understand. But when she started to giggle, I looked down at myself and swore. I looked like I had just fallen out of bed. My clothes were crumpled and slanted, my hair was falling in front of my eyes and must have looked completely untamable, and I could tell my lips were already starting to swell by how deep we had been kissing. So maybe making out in Ino's living room wasn't my smartest idea, but I wasn't exactly thinking with the right head either.

"You boys have fun?" I should have seen that coming. I growled while she giggled, instantly starting to put a damper on my mood.

"Shut up! We're going ba—" God damnit! Couldn't I get through one day without my cell phone going off? I shoved my hand into my pocket to grab the phone, not bothering to look at who it was. Flipping it open, I shouted loudly into the phone. "What do you want?!"

"Naruto." I frowned softly when I heard gramps' voice on the other side. What the heck did he want?

"Pervert?"

"Where are you?" He didn't even pause at the insult.

"I'm…" Why did my throat feel dry? I swallowed to try and ignore the nerves racing through my body as I spoke. "I'm at Ino's still…why?"

"I need you to come home, alright?" Why was he acting so weird? Sure he seemed fine, but there was just something off about his laugh that made goose bumps crawl over my skin. "Is there any way you can head home now?"

"What's going on?" I turned away from Ino and Sasuke to move to the door, pressing my palm along my other ear to focus on his voice. Faintly, I could hear a blaring noise in the background. Was gramps at some sort of bar? I scoffed into the phone. "If you forgot about the plants, don't worry. I'll grab the— "

"I'm at your house with the police." I felt my eyes widen at the surprising information, slowly shaking my head.

"For…for what?"

"Naruto, come home." Dumbly I nodded as if he could see me, and I barely mumbled a 'bye' before flipping the phone shut. I stared at the front of my phone as it flicked with the one minute, twelve second conversation I had with gramps. Slowly I lifted my head when the glow of my clock automatically shut off, smiling weakly to the two in the living room.

"Uh hey…I've gotta go."

"What?! But the movie—"

"I can't go." The strain in my voice was apparently enough to get Ino's attention. Her gaze instantly turned soft as she spoke with concern in her voice.

"Is everything alright, Naruto?" I didn't answer her question until I slipped on my hoodie and pulled open the door, hesitantly glancing down the road toward my house.

"Well gramps isn't dead, and we're all here. That's a good sign."

But by the way Jiraiya spoke; I should have known it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

**DUN DUN DUN DUN! Yeah, I went there. I hope that you liked it! So things are starting to get intense…er! What exactly is going on at Naruto's house? What are the boy's feelings for each other? What was Jiraiya writing? And how will it affect Naruto's life? Stay tune for the next chapter, which will be out…eventually! Haha soon, I promise! **


	8. Who Knew Jealousy Tasted so Sweet?

Hello everyone! Yeah, I know I left it in a bad spot….and then took forever to add another part. But in my defense, Italy is coming to an end and I want to make sure it's perfect! And so I'm hoping this goes over better! –grins-. First, my thank yous. First one is **Chiaki Megumi **, who said her review was worthless but really wasn't since it was the first one of the chapter! Haha, now for the others. **Asylum Heist **(oh yummy! –drinks smoothie- and I'm not giving away anything!)**, -Nightly Halo- **(I updated the other story…so uh…you can't kill me! –smiles- and besides, I'm too cute to kill! –whines-)**, keikopanda102 **(haha we all love Sasuke and Naruto cuddling, it's just one of the perks of them!)**, Crystalline tears **(-pulls out nursing kit- Ill fix you up! And I promise that this chapter will help heal some of your wound)**, Kisa167 **(Like Sasuke would ever just let Naruto cry on his own right now…-scoffs- let's give the teme some credit)**, LuveNaruto100 **(Aw thank you! I don't think I deserve a dedication, but that's extremely sweet of you)**, XSasuxNaruxForeverX **(haha yes yes, I know that I'm horrible for making you wait but I promise it'll be worth it!)**, XxMileena-chanxX **(-slowly inches away from the spork of doom- I promise I wont steal it…I mean, I don't wanna di--…get a strongly written letter!)**, Searafina **(Well if you like that, I'm banking on the fact that you'll like this chapter too!)**,mistress0of0sin **(haha I love when people ask me what's going to happen! Makes me think that you actually care! –grins- thanks for the nice review)** Itooshii Koneko **(haha I always enjoy your reviews! Yes, Naruto is so frustrating with his flip-flopping, but it just makes it all the better when he finally gives in)**, roxxihearts **(Oh please, you LOVED the face that it was in Ino's living room! –grins- that's the best part)**, EdSpikeSesshyGirl **(haha it's the natural way of things! Just when you think something sexy is going to happen, evilness prevails)**, Norway22, **(haha you'd just like that now wouldn't you? A fire would 'mysteriously' happen and force the two lovers together)** HeartofRaven **(haha well that's not a completely bad idea! I do expect to have Sakura come back into the story, so that might be a way to do it…)**, Here's Your Cheese Omelette **(You should know by now that when something good happens, a bad event is soon to follow)**, BloodRedAngel808 **(well good! I understand why some people may like Sakura and Naruto together, but…it just doesn't feel right to me. Nothing against her though!)**, gaaranojutsu02 **(yup, that's how it always happens. You think it'll be all set up, and then BOOM!)**, Akiru chan **(eep I don't want you to suffocate! And that would have been funny if his parents broke into their own house!)**, Fangirl66 **(I can't really say what's going to happen with Naruto, but I promise there will be lots more SasuNaru!)**, The Desiree Incident **(You're just too cute! I don't mind if you guess, I like to see where the readers think the story is going!)**, redfoxmoon **(Thanks for the two long reviews! I'm happy that you like the story so far! And Jiraiya would be my hero if he made a story about Sasuke and Naruto together! Maybe I'll do a one-shot like that!)**, Rogen-chan **(Alright! Sorry about the wait, but that stupid thing called life got in my way and…gosh it's so annoying!)**, DarkestflameUchiha **(Sorry! I can't help it, Sasuke just makes me emo sometimes! But I promise there's more SasuNaru in this one!)**, kutoki **(I'll try to keep updating as soon as I can, but for now you'll just have to be satisfied with the SasuNaru moments)**, miskie27 **(haha I love how at the beginning of your review you act like you're mad I left it a cliffy, but the end you love it! Haha!)**, nekochan77 **(I didn't even notice that was the title broken up! Haha that's too funny! But I'm glad that I (somehow) attracted you to read this!)**, Black-Sky-Loves-Me **(Aw thank you! Now I can join Naruto from Italy and fight crime! I so want a cape)**, asdf **(Whatever Naruto or Sasuke has to go through, they'll at least have each other to go to! And after this one, the only person who will really be a help will be !)**, Kittywoman12 **(haha that's what Sasuchan said to me too when she read it! –grins- I'm glad I was able to capture them right!)**, moonlightstar1789 **(everything equals fighting with them. I mean really, without fights they wouldn't even talk!)**, Insanity needs a Kanshisha **(those two things seem to be favs of the readers, so I'm happy I put em in! I almost didn't put the apple jacks part in because I was a bit nervous but I'm happy I did!)**, sasuxxnaruxxluverxx **(lots and lots of stuff is going on! That man with the perverted mind is still a mystery! mwhaha)**, kat10788 **(-squeaks- hugs=squeaks. Haha but you know I'm just too cute to really want to kill. You like me too much!)**, Imou **(haha cat got your tongue? And you'll find out all the answers in due time!)**, DaphneRaynard **(Well I'm happy that someone is accepting of my ambiguity!)**, Deathangelebz **(haha he knew what it meant, but the actual definition was important because his arm was around Sasuke, which is a technical embrace according to Webster)**, Wopsidaisy **(haha and sadly, I don't think you'll get any of your answers until the next chapter!)**, SkoRn3d **(haha I know I know, cliff hangers suck! But if I didn't end it there, I was going to have to end it at an even worse place)**, LovelyNocturnalSunGoddess **(Don't tell Sasuchan but…-hugs- this was the best review! I loved it! Thanks so much for the detailed review, it made me smile for like an hour straight!)**, ..wings. **(haha yes, and people seem to wanna chase me into a closet and beat me for the cliffy, but I'm still happy that some people appreciate it for what it is!)**, jenniebennie **(Imagine how pissed you'd all be if that was really it. Itachi is there, taking Naruto's plants and breaking up the make-out scene for no reason whatsoever. Haha no no, I promise it's not that)**, Midori-apple **(haha I know, I'd be embarrassed too if I slept like Sasuke! Not that Naruto really minds!)**, kunf'you'z-ed **(hardest name ever to type out…-sighs- and I'm happy that you like the story enough to go back to it!)**, zerofangirl **(I know how that feels, when you work on something and it just…-sighs- haha I'm making the world melt by the end of this chapter)**, Disgruntled minion **(Of course you won't be able to look at apple jacks the same! Next time you'll drool –winks-)**, xMissXPepperx **(I'm just happy that people want to read it! I never thought I'd have people waiting for me! –blushes-)**, Bloodypassion **(haha I'm trying, but I'm just so wrapped up in other stuff it's harder than before –sighs-)**, xXPixieStikXx **(I had fun with the dictionary, so I'm hoping that it showed while playing a part in their relationship)**, cluelessninja65 **(yay! I threw somebody off a bit! I'm pretty excited now –grins-)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqueak **(only two hours? Boy you sure are hard to please!)**, Rasalynnlynx **(its always more realistic if what we want to happen doesn't happen quite when we expect it)**, roisinmurphyrox **(well hello again! Im happy that you like the tension)**, lili **(haha no no, I'm happy that you understood it! I have hard times coming up with titles actually, so I'm happy you liked it)**, NaMeLessDesiir3 **(-blushes- Im happy that its one of your favorites because I really enjoy writing it! Thanks for the sweet review!)**, tinlizzie81592 **(haha I'm going as fast as I can, but it takes time to make it good! I promise you'll like this chapter though) **, blue-nuriel **(Maybe it does, but you'll never know!! Well…okay you will, but not yet!)**, Lydia-chan **(haha I'm happy so many people liked the applejacks! It was almost deleted but I was like 'eh…y not..')**, frizzy197 **(hey! Do your homework before you read my stuff! School is important, and I can say that because I'm in college –grins-)**, hollowsmile **(OF course when all of the good stuff, stupid people interrupt…like the police, pfft)**, MasochistandSadist **(Sadist, I'm terribly sorry for being so late, she must be making you try to hang yourself….Masochist, first off Sasuchan gets protective of me when you hug me…but it's cute when Sasuchan's like that, so go ahead! Also, I hope that you enjoy this part! Oh, uh…you might want to get a tissue…-hands cookie- here for the wait)**, digitalcupcake **(I really want to be a writer when I get older, but you know how that goes…-smiles- for now I'm happy making you people happy!)**, Mistress-Tsukiko **(-shrugs- who knows what's wrong –blinks- oh…wait, I'm supposed to know, huh? –grins- well I guess you'll find out eventually)**, sakurananachan **(He doesn't show up in this chapter, but I'm planning on having him be a part of the next chapter…yup yup, that's my plan!)**, a rather slytherin griffindor **(well you know, I try to make you people swoon…-grins- I guess I did good!)**, vixie795 **(it seems whenever someone compliments me on speed, I screw up…but I'm sure the chapter will make up for it!)**, Nana-Riiko **(I won't kill Tsunade off…that'd just be too many people randomly dying off…!)**, FireonIce **(gah don't do that! –sighs- you people are so crazy…got people skipping school, staying up late, messing up their work schedules…the president is going to ban me from writing!)**, Friglit **(I can't say…my lips are sealed till the next chapter!)**, Tain chan **(haha I'm happy that you enjoy their friendship! Normally it's NaruSaku, but I thought that Ino would probably be better for this part)**, Kyuubi1794 **(I know that you probably want to kill me, but before you do read the chapter!)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(haha I love how I put up those questions, and then I realized that they don't all get answered until the next chapter…-sighs-)**, mockup **(haha well I'm sure if Sasuke and Naruto didn't keep getting interrupted, they'd be very far…-looks at chapter- yup yup…)**, fabulosfan **(well I guess since you asked so nicely, I'll add a little something special at the end…-grins-)**, Jazzycakez **(aw don't die! If you die, you'll never get to see the end of the story!)**, Kawaii-No-Naruto **(the fact you can turn that perverted makes me wonder what is going on in that head of yours…-sighs- but then I realized I didn't wanna get evil ideas! –grins-)**, robin Maxwell **(haha Sasuchan doesn't like you saying you love me =p. But it makes me funny to see Sasuchan jealous, so I don't mind! –grins- and I'm happy you like the story so much!)**, Melidi **(eh maybe he is, you never know with my mind!)**, Kib **(-has had phone interrupt her at least six times- it gets really annoying, but it does happen…especially when you're in a fight or making out with someone)**, Mrshellman **(haha well actually I'm considered the masochist in most of my prev. relationships since I take too much shit…but It's a fun thought!)**, **and **UchihaAkimoto ** (haha thank you very much! I'm happy that I've lured you in!)

Alright guys! I need to thank **Sasuchan **because she popped this out so quickly for me, since I was late…oh, and Sasuchan has claimed me I guess? –grins- Since all you people keep saying you love me, it makes my beta jealous. Hee hee, and I'm evil for finding it cute. –will get killed if she ever reads this-. But go read! See ya at the bottom!

**Warning: ****-hands out tissues- oh yea, it gets a little smutty toward the end…-grins-**

**Disclaimer: ****-glances to Sasuchan- I don't own Naruto, but I do own an adorable beta! –tackles- **

**Who Knew Jealousy Tasted so Sweet?**

"I don't need you to come, bastard." Because everyone knew denial was most effective when you were already sitting in the car, letting yourself be driven by said-not-needed person. Not that I really had time to protest when we were in Ino's yard. The blonde girl really was too protective of me. I slipped up once with my keys and she instantly decided I was too shaken to drive. I doubted I needed a chauffeur to drive me to my own damn house. The bastard got lucky with his guess about my hands. They weren't even shaking. They were just….quivering a little. Ino wouldn't listen to me though, and forced Sasuke to drive me home. By the look on his face, I was sure that he was not pleased with the results of his observation. Served him right.

"Hn." He acted like it was my fault that we were stuck in his car together. Like somehow I demanded Sasuke to take me home, but then again, anything that Sasuke could pin on me, he would.

"I bet someone egged my house. If I find egg cartons in Kiba's car, I'm going to smash his face in," I said, maybe more to fill the eerie silence than for actual interest.

"Do you always resort to violence?" I shrugged in response, shifting a bit into the comfortable seat of his mustang.

"Not always. I've been told I preach a lot too."

"A violent preacher is hypocritical."

"More ironic." He rolled his eyes and glanced over to me when he had to stop at the end of the street.

"Irony isn't hypocritical; it's unexpected. It's when the outcome of something is not what is anticipated. Unless it's dramatic irony, in which case the outcome is expected by the reader and not the actual person it affects."

"Well thanks for the English lesson, but I don't remember walking into class." I saw a slight smirk when he started to drive again, making me scowl. The comment was not meant to make him happy.

"If you were in class, your forehead would be plastered on my dashboard with drool coming from your mouth."

"That was one time! _One _time!" Well, one time in the class he was in. Not that he really needed to know what I was thinking anyways.

"Idiot." I glared at the side of his face, but he was too busy watching the road to look at me. I settled for the rest of the short ride to finish instead of trying to talk to him. This was the kid I had just been kissing ten minutes ago? My glare out the window slowly softened when I moved away from everything else but the strange feelings I had gotten before the phone call. If that call never happened, would me and Sasuke really have left? Sure some of it could be blamed on lust, but even that was a little strange. Why was kissing Sasuke so much different than anyone else? I had received more than a couple kisses during my life. But touching my bottom lip, I knew something was completely different this time. And I had a feeling I just couldn't chalk it up to the guy factor anymore, because the fact he was male only seemed to heighten the feelings.

I jerked a bit when I felt Sasuke's car stop quicker than I expected, catching my attention. It was easy to see why he had to stop in front of my neighbor's house. Everywhere I could look, flashes of lights would blind me. I could make out the types of rescue vehicle by the lights. Two police, one fire truck, and two ambulances. My mouth parted silently while I stared, my eyes darting quickly around the scene. The questions started to fill my head faster than I could breathe. Why were they here? What was with the police tape? How come they had so many people there? Why were they in my house?

What the hell happened?

"Wha…" But I couldn't seem to get my voice to work yet. Deciding my vocal chords were frozen, I quickly pushed out of the car and headed toward the scene of chaos. I felt confused with the quick hustling around me, but I tried to ignore it while I searched for someone who could explain why my house was taped off. So when I saw a white mane that could only be owned by gramps, I didn't hesitate to jog over to him. "Gramps!"

"Naruto, you sure got here fast." The pervert turned away from the police officer he was talking to, and it was the movement of his body that revealed a second person standing with him. I blinked once, and then again to make sure I wasn't losing my mind.

"What's granny doing here?" She seemed as unhappy with the nickname as ever, but she didn't yell. Well that was a first.

"I was with Jiraiya when he got the call."

"So you finally gave into the perverts requests then?" I nudged her arm a bit with my elbow, and still she didn't yell. The action started to bother me.

"There's no time for your disrespectful nature today squirt." I yelped when Jiraiya hit the side of my head. Alright, so at least gramps was still annoying as ever. I shot him a glare while he continued. "Naruto, there's been a slight change of plans. It seems that your house is going to be unreachable for a couple of days, so you're going to have to stay with a friend."

"What? What do you mean 'unreachable'?! All of my stuff is in there! And what about my school crap? I've got a paper I've gotta do for Monday and all my research is with my bag!" Yeah, if you consider research a sports illustrated magazine and a pack of gum. But the thought of not being able to get to any of my stuff was not acceptable. That was my house! And everyone else in the world seemed to be going into it except me. "Somebody tell me what's going on here!"

"Stop yelling." I growled and glared at Sasuke, who didn't even bother to look at me. Instead, his eyes were focused on the taped off house next to us. He was tense, in a way that I had never seen before. I could clearly see his hands clenching and relaxing next to his side, as if wanting to fight the police tape in front of us. If anyone was going to that, it was going to be me! But Sasuke didn't even turn his head when he addressed gramps. "Jiraiya."

"Ah, Uchiha Sasuke. It's nice to see you again." The last time I remember them being in the same room was at Sakura's sweet 16 birthday party. That was almost two years ago. "I've heard you've been in some therapy with Naruto. How is that going?"

"Jiraiya." And then, something seemed to change with the pervert. The familiar spark that normally accompanied his grin was gone, and replaced with a calmer look that almost bothered me. The smile that ran wild on his face now dampened a bit with the repeat of his name, and his tone dropped slightly.

"I'm sorry you had to see this." What the hell was he apologizing to Sasuke for?! It was _my _house! Maybe Sasuke didn't understand either; because he remained quiet long enough for Jiraiya to continue. "I hate to ask you something like this, but I really am kind of in a pickle. I'm probably going to be here for a while, and Naruto will only get in the way. I was wondering if I could entrust you to take care of him for me?"

"Take care of—what am I, a baby?! I'm standing right here! I can find my own place to stay you know. I don't need you to find me babysitters."

"Just think of it as another step in your therapy." Of course granny would side with the pervert. Even if she got annoyed with his hands, Tsunade and Jiraiya had been friends since they were little. And since both of them were as old as time, that was saying something. "You can report it to Kakashi and he'll take it into account for your development."

"Who even said I was leaving? This is my house damnit! I want everyone out of it now. Whatever was broken or graffitied I'll take care of myself." I didn't need the whole Konoha squad to take care of it. Maybe next time I wanted to clean my room I'd give them a call.

"It's not that…simple." Tsunade's calm voice almost hid the hesitation she used in her wording. I blinked once before slowly turning my head back toward the house, liking the scene even less now.

"Then what is it?" I asked slowly, glancing between the only two I thought would know the answer. Granny seemed uncomfortable with the question, and glanced over to gramps. If he was feeling the same way he didn't show it, grinning like he always did while ruffling my hair.

"Let's worry about getting you a place to stay first. We'll have plenty to time to talk about this later." Didn't he get that I didn't want to 'talk about it later'? What I wanted was some answers! But the pervert seemed to ignore my internal needs in order to focus back on what he considered 'important'. "So Sasuke, will you take Naruto in? Just for a little while, until this whole situation is sorted out."

"Hn." Even with gramps he was rude. Though I yelled at the pervert every day of my life, I still didn't like the fact that Sasuke wouldn't give him an actual response. But either way, Jiraiya seemed content with the sound and nodded in an understanding I would never get.

"Good. Now I think its best if we get you out of here, squirt. Don't want to make their jobs harder by yelling at them every three seconds."

"Yes I do!" I winced when I realized how childish my complain was and cursed. Apparently Sasuke had heard the same level of infancy, because he snorted and crossed his arms.

"Idiot."

"Bastard."

"Moron."

"Asshole!"

"Boys." Even though we weren't in school, we both stopped to look over to our principal. She sighed and rubbed her temple, something she seemed to do a lot when she was in our presence. "This is not showing me you two have improved."

"Aw Tsunade, can't you see this fight is completely different then their other ones? They haven't shed any blood yet." I blinked slowly when I glanced down to my hands, surprised they weren't fisted. And taking one look at the teme, I knew he wasn't getting ready to fight either. Now that it had been brought to the light, the last confrontation we actually had was over a week ago. And really neither one of us wanted to fight.

"I…" I what? What could I even say right now other than 'you're right, Sasuke doesn't make me want to beat the shit out of him anymore'? Gramps seemed to take my loss of words as a joke, because he laughed and wrapped his arm around granny's shoulders. That got him a warning look that would make ninjas cry.

"You old pervert, you better keep your hands idle. Or I'll show these boys how to really fight."

"You know, you get this cute little wrinkle in your nose when you scowl like that." I cringed before the hit sent gramps flying to the ground. Even though her hand was still clenched, I could see the blush that was forming along her face. I was waiting for a lot of screaming to come from Tsunade, but a police officer came and stopped her from ranting.

"Excuse me miss, but they're ready for him." Even the cop seemed scared of granny, who scowled and crossed her arms at the request. She moved over to gramps, kicking him in the side.

"They need you in there now." Somehow, the sentence seemed to wake him from his stupor. He rose and nodded to the cop before sending me a quiet glance that had me confused. What was with that look anyways?

"Go to Sasuke's for the weekend. I'll take of everything here. I'll even remember to water your plants." I closed my eyes when he ruffled my hair again, feeling slightly annoyed by how he always made me feel like a kid. "We'll talk Monday."

"Yeah yeah, you better not screw anything up in there. And tell those people that too!" His hand pulled away from my head, and I opened my eyes to watch him walk toward my house with an officer and some guy in a black jacket. It was only after he disappeared through the doorway I had ran through so many times that I felt a bit unsure of what to do next. Jiraiya wanted me to go to Sasuke's, but really I wasn't sure that was what I wanted right now. Seeing my home infiltrated by people I didn't know made me extremely uneasy. Plus, him and granny kept talking to me like I was a kid. I was seventeen, not seven. But the way they kept acting, I was contemplating beating them over the head with my birth certificate to prove it.

I don't exactly remember walking to Sasuke's car. I know that I had made the decision that I wasn't going to stay here and watch these people dissect my home. And yeah, eventually I was going to end up at Sasuke's. But it was what I wanted to do between then and now I wasn't really sure.

"The car's locked." I stopped tugging on the handle to look up at Sasuke, who lackadaisically pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the doors. "Idiot."

"Shut up." We scowled at each other over the top of the car for a few seconds before I finally rolled my eyes and opened the door. Fine, let him win the stupid staring contest. I heard him quietly shut the door behind him, but the car didn't start. Fighting with myself for a moment, I glanced over at him and watched his eyebrow slowly arch.

"Where are we going?"

"Your house. Then Lowes."

"Lowes?" He said the name like it was acid, making me smirk.

"Yeah, Lowes. I need to get some stuff from there."

"And you think about this at almost nine at night?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes, pushing his arm to get him to start the car.

"I was planning on doing it tomorrow, asshole. But since my house has turned into a game of CSI, I might as well get it done now." Finally getting the hint, he started up the car. He didn't speak again until we had passed my house and left everything there behind.

"Why Lowes?"

"Because we need supplies."

"We?" He sure seemed to have issues with me clumping me and him together. I sighed and looked over at him when he pulled from my street onto the main road.

"Yeah, _we_. I left my list of crap _we _need at your house, so _we've_ gotta stop there first."

"Hn." But I knew he wanted to say more from the tightening on his lips. Even Uchihas got curious. They were just better at hiding it than most people. So I waited until he finally seemed to be overcome by his interest. "What are you buying?"

"Now was that so hard?" I'm sure he wanted to glare at me, but he couldn't look over while he was driving. "And I'm not telling you."

"What?" His eye actually twitched at my reply, and it made my grin widen. Nothing made me happier than seeing Sasuke's stoic act crack.

"Stop being so impatient! I'll show you when we get to the store." He snorted but he didn't speak again. The rest of the drive I played with his radio stations, seeming to annoy him more with my constant fidgeting. I ignored the glances he sent me every couple of minutes in order to find a good station. It would have been easier if his programmed stations weren't a bunch of crap. I made sure to switch one to my favorite station when he moved into his house. I didn't bother to go, knowing he'd use that 'genius' brain of his to figure out where it was. And when I looked up to see him reading my notes inside of his calculus notebook, a part of me smirked. I really did know him better than he thought. Maybe a part of me was more proud than I should have been, but I ignored it when I realized what he was doing.

"Paint?" I tried to snatch the notebook from him, but he lifted it from my grasp when he sat back in the car seat. "Rollers?"

"Give me that back damnit!" I nearly fell into his lap when he moved the notebook again, but I grasped his door to keep my chest from falling. Taking the position as an advantage, I shot my hand up and knocked the notebook from his hands. Crying in success, I scooped up the prize before ripping my notes from the binding. Shoving them into my pocket, I tossed the useless notebook back to him. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to read other people's crap?"

"It was in my notebook, with my pen, in my room, that's located inside of my house."

"…Your point?"

"I wonder how many times your—" But suddenly he stopped, and unexpectedly winced. I blinked and tilted my head at the sudden break of character, not really sure what to think of it. Whatever he had planned to say was lost as he started the car up again. That was _not _normal. I could tell by the edginess of his normally refined movements that he knew it too. Sasuke had messed up. But about what, I wasn't really sure. Something involving me apparently.

"Sas-"

"Don't." He turned his cold glance toward me, chilling my spine. "It was nothing."

"Like hell it wasn't! You were going to say something to me!" Whether he decided I wasn't worth an answer or he just didn't want to answer me, I wasn't sure. But either way he kept his mouth sealed while he pulled away from his house. Lowes wasn't too far, but it was enough to recognize the uncomfortable silence between us. Whatever he wanted to say made him pull back a little more than I was comfortable with. I stared out my window, silently wondering when the tables had turned so much. Three weeks ago, silence was probably the only thing that kept me and Sasuke from fighting. If we weren't fighting, silence was completely acceptable and almost normal. So when did it change? I tried to pinpoint and exact moment, but nothing seemed to stand out to me. I guess it was just…gradual. Somehow, we had just changed.

"We're here." I let my eyes refocus on the outside world, realizing that the store was now sitting a couple yards from us. I nodded and pushed from the car, waiting for him to lock the car to speak.

"You sure like this thing." He stared at it for a moment, sliding his hands into his pockets as he walked past me.

"It was my brother's." I was shocked at the new information. Hell, I was shocked he actually answered me! But I shook myself from my astonished state to catch up to him.

"Are you serious?! That thing looks brand new!"

"Compared to your hunk of junk, I bet." If the doors weren't electronic, I'd slam them in his face. But I tried to keep my mind on task as I looked down at my list when stopping in the middle of the large store.

"Alright tem—" Crap. I stopped myself, gripping the paper tighter when he stood in front of me. I slowly lifted my head to gaze up at him, watching for any indication that he knew what I was going to say. But really, anyone who had spent three seconds with me and the bastard would know what my insult was going to be. I guess my real question was more focused on if he would consider it a crime worth punishing. A part of me was ready to defend myself, thinking of reasons why it shouldn't count. I mean, I hadn't fully said it, right? But I felt my eyes widen when I realized that my tongue brushed along my lower lip automatically. His gaze flickered to my mouth, and I shivered at the small step he took toward me. If we moved any closer, we'd be touching. I swallowed to keep my throat going dry at the intensity that always seemed to make his obsidian eyes glow. God, we were in the middle of a store! But it was deserted, right? Still it was public and…and…

Just what did I _really _want?

"Later." His voice was barely lined with a tone that made me flush. Who knew Sasuke could sound like…like _that_? It was leaving me breathless.

"Yeah…" I shook my head quickly, trying to forget the last time we had been left alone. Really, somehow our mouths always ended up glued together when we weren't monitored. A flash of Ino's living room reminded me that it wasn't always just our lips that made contact. Alright! I clapped my hands together loudly, breaking my thoughts and getting a strange look from Sasuke. But I ignored him to look back to the list. He was the reason for all of this anyways! "Paint."

"What about it?" He seemed to compose himself faster than me, which bugged me more than I wanted to admit. I folded the paper, ripping it in half before handing him the bottom part.

"Leave the paint to me. Go get all of this." He seemed instantly bothered with the command, glancing to the torn paper in distaste.

"Why?"

"Because we need it."

"Again, why?"

"Don't you remember last night?" He looked up at me at that, and I fidgeted a bit on my feet. It was out of nervous habit that I bit my lower lip, trying to think of the right way to word my next statement. "I already told you before, your house isn't right. I'm fixing it, remember? I'm going to make it your home again."

He stared at me silently, as if somehow he expected me to change my mind and forget the whole thing. Or maybe he was just used to people not fulfilling expectations. His parents' untimely deaths left him confused and unsure of what to do next. I didn't really know what happened with his brother, but by the way Sasuke seemed to avoid talking about him, I figured their relationship wasn't exactly peachy. Another part of his life that didn't go as planned. Maybe it was why he didn't like taking orders from people now. He wasn't rebellious when it came to rules and laws. His parents probably taught him to never disobey a police officer or teacher. But when it came to his existence outside of school, he seemed completely against losing control of his life. It explained why he always butted heads silently with Kakashi. Sure he was older, but he was interfering with Sasuke's way of living. It bothered Sasuke more than he let on, because he felt like somehow, if he gave up his control over his own life, he'd end up lost again. Going by the way he had to know every detail of my intentions, I could tell he was completely against letting me take the reins.

It was something he was going to get used to. And fast.

"What makes you think I want you to change it?" He finally asked, narrowing his eyes. I snorted at his look before turning away from him.

"Just go get the stuff on your list. We've only got an hour before the store closes." I didn't look back at him when I left him standing in the middle of Lowes. I needed to find three separate paints, and I wasn't going to waste time arguing with Sasuke. So instead, I focused on the large wall that was plastered with several different paint samples. The bright colors made me head ache. I mean really, how many pinks could there be in the world? Ignoring the blaring color, I started to search for what I needed. I knew Sasuke wouldn't go for anything he'd consider 'annoying', so I easily knew no pink, purple, or any shade in-between those would work. I knew he'd never let me put orange on his walls, so I had to sadly ignore the greatest color ever made. Seeing the basic colors I was left with, I grinned and started my work.

Picking colors that not only looked good on walls, but would be allowed by Sasuke and weren't boring was hard. Not to mention the rooms we were starting with were near each other, which meant they all had to look good together as well as apart. The last thing Sasuke was going to let me do was make his house look like a circus. When I had done my house, I didn't think about the house as a whole. Whatever I felt at the time, I painted. Sasuke, I knew, would never go for that. So trying to match everything was much harder than I expected.

Eventually, the gods got sick of watching me struggle and lent a hand. Or maybe they just wanted to add some spice into their favorite human's messed up life.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" I blinked and turned my attention from the confusing wall to look at the guy who called to me. At first I thought Sasuke had a twin, but as the teen got closer I realized there were slight differences about them. Their hair style and faces were both distinctly different, and this kid didn't seem to think smiling was against the law.

"Yeah! Are you good with matching stuff uh…" I looked at his nametag when I realized I had no clue what his name was "Sai?"

"I would hope so, since it's my job to help idiots like you understand basic concepts of comparison."

"Oh great! I need yo—excuse me?" His smile never faltered as I stared at him in shock.

"Well you aren't the only color-blind moron that I have to deal with. Although I have to say, most don't look quite as dumb as you." He circled around me and glanced to the color samples that I had in my hand, completely ignoring my glare as he plucked out three of my color samples and held them up to inspect. "Your yellow tone gives you one warm color, but these two cool colors are too similar. Put this brown instead of that red. It's considered a natural color, and will blend with the dark green and cream yellow."

"Warm…cool…damnit stop talking funny! Is that all I need to change?"

"Your intelligence needs some improvement."

"Aren't you supposed to be nice to me? I'm a paying customer." He smiled happily as he closed his eyes and continued to insult me.

"If the customer has the intelligence, and order of a dog, why would I waste my energy in trying to pretend I care for your well being? I do admit that your face isn't terribly disgusting to look at, but being a blond airhead makes your hardly desirable." I growled low, trying my best not to get kicked out of the store over this asshole. I was here for Sasuke, not to get into some weird fight with a teme-wannabe.

"Give me my damn paint!" I shoved the swatches toward his face, which somehow made the annoying asshole laugh. I was about ready to give up on the whole project and go to another store when Sai grabbed my hand, pulling me sharply toward him. I stumbled a bit before catching myself, glaring up at the attendee who seemed to forget what 'personal space' was.

"What's your name, blondie? Or should I continue to call you stupid?"

"It's Naruto you asshole!" I shouted, tugging my hand back from him.

"Like a fishcake? Naruto sounds delicious." I both glared and flushed at the odd statement.

"Well I'm not! Uh…it's not….what the hell are you trying to pull?!" I took a few steps back, watching Sai shrug and thumb through the three swatches I picked. Wait, when did he grab those?

"How many gallons of each would you like, fishcake?" I blinked once in confusion before shaking my head. This guy was just messing with my mind.

"One of each. I'll come back if I need more." That creepy smile came back, and before I had time to ask what it was for he was in front of me again. My eyes widened when he tapped my nose and instantly my defenses went up. Before I realized what happened Sai was across the aisle, and my fist was throbbing from the punch I had just thrown. He seemed as stunned as I was, but his wore off within seconds. Then that stupid smile was back, and he casually pushed himself to his feet.

"One gallon it is. I'll have it sent to the front under your name. And don't be a stranger if you need more, I'm here almost every night." He walked down the aisle as casually as he had come into it, but stopped at the end. I tensed when he slyly glanced over his shoulder, giving a wink and smiling again. "Oh and thanks. I forgot how girls punched."

"Gah! You freak!" But he seemed almost happy with my embarrassed insult when he walked completely out of my view. I continued to stare at where he left before shivering, moving out of the paint section as fast as I could. The last thing I wanted was to run into him again. So I searched the other aisles until a mop of black hair caused me to pause two aisles down. Making sure it was the right asshole, I hurried to catch up with him. "Sasuke!"

"What?" He pulled his gaze away from the brushes in his hand to look up at me. For some reason, the idea that Sasuke was actually trying to pick the right brush made my heart skip a beat. I stopped next to his side, leaning against his shoulder to look at the two brushes in question. Easily I picked the brush on the left. At the quirk of his eyebrow I simply grinned.

"The other one is badger hair. Normally people use it for varnishing stuff, not for oil-based paints. The bristles fall out too easily." I shrugged and grabbed another one of the paintbrushes I was using. Then I moved to the smaller brushes, picking out two of the same style. "These are nylon paint brushes. I've got a couple at home from when I painted my house, but who knows when I'll be able to get to them. Stupid police."

"Painted your house?" I moved through the aisle after snatching his lists, grabbing two roller pans from the shelf.

"Well I didn't paint the house. I meant that I went and did my rooms _inside _the house. Ya know, my bedroom, the kitchen, all that stuff. Did it about a year ago, but all the paint I used you'd probably hate. You have seen my house after all." I looked back at him when I tossed the paint brushes into the pans. "You get everything else?"

"Hn." Well he sure got into a foul mood pretty fast. And here I was doing half of the crap I told him to get. Why it had taken him so long to get through the list I wasn't sure, but I could clearly see the rollers and tarps under his arm. At least he got some of it.

"Then let's get the heck out of here." He rolled his eyes and followed me to the front of the store, staying silent when I smiled at the young girl at the register.

"Hello, did you find everything you were looking for today?" The generic comment passed through her lips almost immediately after we entered the line.

"Yeah, but some uh…guy was supposed to have three cans of paint brought up here for me. It's under Naruto."

"I'll go check for you." She left the register as I tossed the other supplies onto the conveyor belt in front of us. By the time we had everything set the girl carried back three cans of paint to the register. She started to put in the information for the first can while she held out a note to me. I blinked once before tilting my head, taking the note regardless of my confusion. "It came with the paint. Something about giving it to a fishcake?"

"I am not a damn fishcake!" I startled the girl in front of us, and quickly mumbled an apology before I flipped open the piece of paper. The note was simple, with only a few words. But still it made me flush in anger and practically rip through the note with my clenched fists. And I bet you want to know what it said, huh? Simply, the note read:

_Dear Fishcake, _

_Come back soon so we can have more fun…and bring your brain with you. _

_3 Sai. _

I was going to kill him. Already he had shot up straight past Ino, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Jiraiya on my list of people to kill. In the matter of five minutes, he had scared, pissed, and completely embarrassed the hell out of me. Who was this guy anyways?! I swore on every god I knew I was going to beat the crap out of him the next time that I saw him, which hopefully, would be never.

"Sai?" I crumpled up the paper when Sasuke spoke, shoving the pointless note into my pocket.

"Stupid bastard," I muttered under my breath, watching the price pass a hundred dollars. I pulled out my wallet and flipped open to the debit card Jiraiya had gotten me last year, sliding it out of my holder. "You're paying for half of this."

"Who's Sai?" Man he was persistent about this Sai thing. I rolled my eyes and turned to face him while leaning on the side of the conveyor belt.

"The paint guy who 'helped' me choose some colors. Really all he did was insult my intelligence and call me fishcake. If he didn't smile so much, I'd think he'd learned it from you."

"Why is he writing you a note?"

"Why was he winking at me? I don't know, and I probably won't ever figure it out. He was pretty strange if you ask me." For some reason, the comment only seemed to increase the scowl on Sasuke's face. I wasn't sure why, but the look seemed to make a good feeling swell in my stomach. Deciding it was indigestion; I pushed the thought away and turned my head to look at the final pricing that flashed on the register. Damn, it was over 200 bucks. My inner self crying, I swiped my card through the machine and watched my money drain away in mere seconds. I did some sloppy math in my head while she bagged the stuff before turning my attention back to Sasuke. "You owe me one hundred and thirteen bucks buddy!"

"Fine." Holy shit, did I just get a word from him? A word that wasn't made up by an Uchiha? I forced my jaw to stay in place while I watched him glare off to the side, somehow finding interest in the display of garden hoses that were fifteen percent off. Not that I really thought he was interested in buying them so much as keeping his glare off of me. When had I started to read his movements? Hell, when had I started to _care_?

The thought shifted through my mind while the girl bid us a goodnight. We quietly made our way to the car, throwing the stuff into the back before we took our appropriate seats and Sasuke pulled quickly out of the parking lot. It was only when I heard the slight screeching of the tires that I spoke up.

"What crawled up your ass and died?"

"Nothing." Was it just me, or was Sasuke starting to lose his composure a lot more than he used to? Not to say he would burst out into tears or rip his hair out anytime soon, but the clenching of his now white knuckles was pretty apparent to me. Maybe it had always been there. I just never really bothered to look until now.

"You want to try that again without the bullshit lie?"

"Hn."

"Aw come on! I thought we were past that one word shit?" I couldn't control myself when I reached out, my heart practically stopping when my fingers slide down his inner thigh. The intimate gesture had us both swearing when the car came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. But the jerky motion only increased the pressure of my hand along the firm muscle underneath my fingertips. Our backs snapped back into our seats, which luckily weren't hard enough to actually hurt. I still closed one eye from the contact, finally focusing enough to glare over to Sasuke. "What did you do that for?!"

"Get your hand off of me." Why did his anger always fuel mine? Because watching the black fire flicker in his eyes, I couldn't fight back the snappy reply.

"So you can shove your tongue in my throat, but I can't touch you?"

"If you were any more sensitive, I'd have you checked for estrogen overload."

"You fucking prick."

"At least I have one." I gaped at him in shock. What was with all the shots? And for Sasuke, they were pretty low too.

"What is your problem?!" I squeezed my hand on his thigh just to watch his eyes narrow dangerously. "If I remember correctly, you were more than willing to come to my damn house a couple hours ago!"

"A miscalculation on my part." Alright, that one hurt.

"A miscalculation…you mean a _regret_?" We stared at each other, because the answer to my question was probably more important than breathing at the moment, and hey, if I forgot to inhale my body would eventually force me to start up again. So I kept my focus on the annoyed guy in front of me, waiting for him to reply. Somehow, my insistent gaze made his eyes lose their edginess. The strain of the muscle under my hand slowly unwound, and I found my thumb drawing lazy circles to keep myself from speaking. I was tired of being the only one to talk.

"No. That wasn't the right wording." He said it slowly, and my muscles instantly relaxed. So he didn't regret it. That was a good sign, right? Pushing my luck, I leaned closer to him.

"Then what is going on with you? I can't read minds you know." I cracked a grin to try and lighten the air, but it didn't seem to change him.

"Why does it matter?" He never seemed comfortable with talking about himself. While I turned aggressive during uncomfortable situations, Sasuke went defensive.

"Why does everything have to have an ulterior motive with you? Why can't I just be curious? You've got to stop thinking the world is out to get you! I mean god…I have to sneak through your shit just to find out what happened in your life. I don't want to do that! I want you to stop being a bastard and tell me." But he didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I didn't move my hand when he started to drive, but he didn't speak about it. I knew he felt it because anytime we'd hit a rocky road, my hand would move against his thigh. The warmth seeped into my hand, and somehow always caught me by surprise. I never really expected Sasuke to feel this welcoming to the touch.

I finally had to slide the fingers from their resting spot when the gates to his house opened for him again. The heat was instantly missed, but I couldn't exactly latch onto his thigh while we made our way out of the car. I started to open the back door, but Sasuke's quiet voice cut through my movements.

"Leave it."

"Huh? Why?" For someone who asked so many questions, he didn't seem happy with my own curiosity.

"I said so."

"We'll just have to come out here tomorrow ya know."

"We'll make another trip."

"There's no point. You're just being stupid." He glared at me and I returned it with equal strength until I heard the car lock. I quickly jerked my gaze back to the door, pulling at the handle a few times to prove to myself that the bastard had actually locked me out of the car. That jerk! I was going to give him a mouthful, but it seemed he had already done that for himself. Feeling pale lips brush along my neck made me shiver. When had he gotten behind me? His slim digits now sunk under my shirt to spread along either side of my waist. Feeling a rush of the pleasure that had been stuffed down once before, I growled in warning.

"I'm not sure what this is either." The mumbled words vibrated along my sensitive skin, and I dipped my head backwards at the strong feeling fluttering under my skin. I didn't allow myself to completely submerge in the pleasure. Instead I tilted my head toward him, watching that cold stare connect with the dark car in front of us. Despite the natural confidence he always had, I could tell he was confused. As confused as I had been in Ino's living room. Neither of us knew why we were doing this…we just were. His mouth was lying against my skin, surrounding my fluttering pulse. Fingers now ran along the muscles in my stomach, making it extremely hard to focus on anything other than the burning sensation that was returning full force. "I should have never thought of you like this."

"Like w-what?" I mumbled, letting my eyes start to close when a suck was applied to my bared skin. I was sure it was to keep his nerves from taking control of him. The hesitant fingers now explored the curls that made up the happy trail underneath my belly button. I bit my lip hard to try to ignore the need to gasp. I wasn't even sure he knew what he was doing. The lack of rhythm in his assault on my neck proved that somehow, his body was sure of something that his mind was still trying to focus on. But when his devilish fingertips dipped into the front of my jeans, my back arched. "You've gotta..ah…stop."

"Why?" God damnit! I was going to have that word removed from the vocabulary right after I dealt with the ranging hard on in my pants. I breathed through my nose for a few seconds, trying to ignore the surges of pleasure I was getting from knowing Sasuke's fingers were so dangerously close to the one part of me that needed release.

"Fuck!" I hit my head back against his shoulder, causing Sasuke to grunt from shock. There was a part of me that wanted to ignore my nagging heart and enjoy the hesitant gliding of his slender fingers just barely out of reach of what needed to be touched. But really, my heart wasn't going to let me do something that the asshole didn't completely want. I panted to catch my voice before I glared over at him. "Why? D-do you realize what y-you're doing, bastard? Doubt it, s-so get off!"

In mere seconds, I had been spun around only to be muted by a fierce kiss that knocked any sense of reason left in my head. Sasuke kissed me hard, as if somehow leaving his mark inside of my mouth. I shivered when I realized something startling. It was the first time we had kissed without punishment playing a factor. Sure, if we wanted we could always blame it on the Lowes incident. But feeling his mouth demand a response, I knew this was something completely different. No, Kakashi couldn't be blamed for this. I kissed back because Sasuke wanted me to. Because I…I wanted to. I hated the weakness I felt. I loved the sensations flowing through my blood. We may not have known why…

But we sure knew what we were doing.

When my mouth didn't open fast enough for him, he tugged the back of my hair to get a gasp to widen my parted lips. The other hand travelled down my spine slowly, as if counting every vertebrate. My eyes widened in surprise when I felt it press against my ass and lift me against his body. I would have blushed, but I was too lost in the tongue battle with Sasuke to care. The heat returned between us, and I felt the same fuzzy feelings stir in my stomach from the living room. Did we even leave the room? Because by the way our hips melded together, it felt like we had never been separated. Whatever had hindered him before had snapped, burned, and completely dissolved from sight. Not that I minded in the least bit.

What I did mind was the fact that Sasuke could carry me so easily without breaking our kiss. I showed just how pissed I was about the action by squirming and biting his lip, but both only seemed to add to the sexual aura around us. He didn't let me go until my back was pressed against the front door, where I knew he'd have to drop me. Either that or we were going public with this little…whatever it was. I shoved on his shoulders, pulling back from the kiss when he finally dropped me back to my feet.

"Next time, I'll handle the paint." His hands easily slid the key into the door, keeping his eyes on my hazy gaze while he spoke. Maybe for him, it was more of a ramble. "Next time, there will be no Sai."

"What's that bastard got to do with anything?" I breathed out, already started to think of another way to get his lips back on mine. This was insane. We had both lost it. My hands were on his chest while he flicked open the lock of the door, and I managed to get his shirt over his bellybutton before I was being pushed into the large hallway. He didn't let me stumble far before his fingers hooked in my belt loops, his mouth hovering just over mine. I growled at how cocky he seemed when flashing those irresistible eyes toward mine.

"Nothing. He has nothing to do with you." I stared at him in confusion, because nothing he was saying was making sense. He didn't even know Sai! But really, I couldn't force myself to care when his lips came back to mine. The softest place in the world was located in Sasuke's mouth. Whether that made him girly I wasn't sure. I did however know it made my own mouth water. Taking the lead in the kiss, I grabbed his cheeks and forced him to let me into his cavern in order to get my own taste of him. My body was on fire when the silky fabric of my shirt started to become unbuttoned. The cool air did nothing to calm my skin. We only parted out lips to focus on the fact that trying to take off somebody else's shirt while kissing was not as easy as they made it seem in the movies. That didn't stop the lingering kisses that were passed when one of us succeeded in exposing more skin. It wasn't until the last button on my shirt had been released that I realized what he had meant earlier.

"Fuck teme…were you jealous?" He glared at me when I pulled his shirt over his head to leave his chest naked to my gaze. He scoffed and leaned forward.

"You said it again." Yeah, as if that was why he wanted to kiss. But I wasn't going to complain about another chance to taste his mouth. Really I was becoming addicted to the taste of cinnamon. My shirt was shoved roughly off of my shoulders, and I groaned at the grip Sasuke had on my arms. Was he scared I was going to run away? Because I wasn't sure the house lighting on fire would be able to catch my attention right now. I pulled back from the tongue exchange and grinned through my heavy breathing.

"You don't know shit about paint."

"I'll learn. Can't be too hard if you learned it, dobe." I growled and shoved him toward the stairs.

"You owe me one, asshole." I moved up the stairs quickly, not exactly sure why I was rushing. There was no time limit. In fact, I didn't even know what I was rushing into. For all I knew, Sasuke would pull a 180 and decide he'd rather play Parcheesi or something else ridiculous. I could already feel my arousal screaming at the thought of incompletion but none of this stopped my legs from stumbling into the hallway. I glanced back, watching Sasuke's dark gaze appear in the hallway behind me. I followed the natural sway oh his hips while he moved, and I found myself walking backwards to keep the connection between our eyes. Of course it backfire when I walked straight into his door, and the bastard had the nerve to roll his eyes at me before leaning his arms over my head and resting his body against mine.

The first contact between our skin was hot, making me hiss when his body brushed against my nipple. The slight arch of my back caused him to groan, and it was then one of his hands pulled my hips back to his. The jeans that separated our bodies were both heaven and hell. The sensation made me bite his shoulder to keep some semblance of sanity. I felt myself shift to try to think of anything that had ever felt as strong as now. But really, Sasuke wasn't giving me time to think of anything other than finding a way to rub through the material of our pants. I moaned, and then glared up to him at the slight smirk he sent me. Still, I could see the lust that threatened to bubble over the deep black irises that watched my flushed face.

"I ha-hate you." But the words were fake the moment they passed by my lips. Still, it got a narrowed glare before he shifted his shoulder, forcing my mouth away from it. It gave him enough time to catch my mouth again, cashing in the owed kiss. By now my hips were lifted off of the door to press into his, using the support of his hand to roll my hips. He somehow managed to keep silent, but the harsh mouth action showed the restraint he needed to stop his noises. The action made me smirk into the kiss before nipping at his lower lip dominantly. Sasuke didn't seem to appreciate quite as much as me.

"You wish." I shivered at the reply that was breathed into my open mouth. Then a strategic rub had me sharply inhaling. My eyelids were glued shut, leaving me unprepared for the feather-light run of Sasuke's fingertips up my stomach. The action had me gasping for air and thrashing my hips to continue the torturous pleasure. How did he do that to me? A heated lick was placed along my neck, and I felt my nails dig into his shoulders when his hips pressed mine back into the door. Automatically I fought against the pinning, the struggling only increasing the winding coil of pleasure in our stomachs. How did this all happen? One minute Sasuke was saying I had no dick, the next he couldn't seem to keep from grinding against it. The pre-cum that I could feel lining my tip only seemed to make my squirming more frantic. I needed to cool the heating ache in my stomach. It was starting to become unbearable. I'd been horny with girls, no doubt about it. But Sasuke was the only person to ever make it practically _hurt _not to finish. In fact, not reaching my orgasm was no longer an acceptable answer. And by the way his bruising grip was urging my hips into his, I knew he wasn't planning on changing the course either.

It wasn't until I felt the soft pressure of Sasuke nipping my neck that I saw white. My head cracked against the door while I swore, the complete pleasure of my orgasm dulling any pain I was going to feel later on. The continual rubbing against my body was intensifying the sensitive skin of my cock, making the orgasm uncontrollable. I cried when another shot of my orgasm flew through me while Sasuke seemed to hit his hard enough to shove me back against the door. Our hips continued to press and grind into each other, prolonging the pleasure as long as possible. Slowly, we both stopped our movements to catch our breath. My body felt boneless as I slumped forward, my forehead pressed against the shoulder I had bit. I watched the red marks start to bruise, and I winced at how much force I had used. Damn my mouth was strong. I shifted my body and almost yelped at the sore skin around my waist. Apparently Sasuke had left his mark too, only in the shapes of finger bruises along my hips.

"Don't fall asleep." Was the first exchange of words Sasuke gave me. Whatever had allowed him to show me any type of emotion was gone as he dropped my weight. I caught myself against the door, practically feeling the Jell-o in my legs swish around.

"Damnit. You change faster than a chameleon…" He snorted, but made sure I was no longer leaning against the door before he pushed it open. I took a few steps in, but stopped when I realized he wasn't following me. "What's up with you, bastard?"

"Go shower and sleep." I twitched slightly at the order. What did he think I was, a girl?

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe when he started to walk away. When he didn't answer I felt a frustration that easily started to override my afterglow. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"I have another shower downstairs, which I plan to use. And judging by the fatigue of your body, I'll assume you'll be asleep by the time I get back." My cheeks puffed out in anger while he gave me an assessment of my own body. Well he didn't know as much about me as he thought!

"I can't sleep without you anyways you bastard!" Oh yeah, that was showing him._ Not._ The once puffy cheeks turned red at his quiet blink, and I stepped back further into his room to let the darkness hide it. "Just, you know-"

"Hn."

"…Body heat and shit like that." He stayed quiet at my lame excuse while I mentally smashed my head into a wall. Great, if I was trying to prove how much of a girl I was, this would have been the perfect way to do it. But since I wasn't, this probably would rank up in the five weirdest moments of my life.

"When Monday comes…" The sudden change of subject had me almost as thrown off as the fact he wasn't simply grunting.

"What…what about Monday?" I asked slowly, tilting my head at the odd statement. Out of all the things he could have spoken about, he wanted to talk about Monday? Something was seriously off with him.

"It has to hurt."

"What has to? You're not making any sense, Sasuke." Maybe it was because he didn't know how to voice his emotions. Maybe it was because he didn't want to let me any deeper into his past. Maybe he wanted to pretend he didn't realize what was going on. It really didn't matter why in the end. For now, I watched naively as Sasuke clenched and unclenched his fists, his mouth barely parting before slamming shut again. And then abruptly, he turned away from me and walked out of the hallway before I could even blink. What was his problem? I sighed, chalking the weird actions up to his Uchiha nature.

How was I supposed to know that Sasuke was trying to save me from the truth?

**Why is it that my stories always end up running at the same pace? –Sighs- well I knew that it'd happen eventually. So yeah they did some stuffies, and Sasuke's starting to open up about his feelings! But what's Monday going to bring? Why wasn't Naruto allowed into his house? What does Sasuke mean with his ominous statement? And was he really jealous of Sai? …If you don't know the answer to that, then you're a goof! Haha well the plot is starting to thicken, and a lot of the past will be exposed in the next chapter. I know you're all dying to know what happened with Itachi, Orochimaru, and Naruto's parents, huh? Well, you'll have to wait and see what goes on in the next chapter! Oh and review! Bye!**


	9. This Irony Would Make Oediupus Wince

…Wow. Not going to lie, I'm pretty shocked at the fact I got this chapter out so quickly. –shrugs- guess my bunnies preferred writing this over doing school work. That, however, does NOT mean I want you to stop doing homework or skip school! Yes, you all know who you are…but anyways, I know you want to get to the next part! So reviews, and then story. Big thanks to **MrsHellman** for my first chapter review! And just because I appreciate the romantic/sexy side of SasuNaru doesn't make me a closet pervert…I'm just shy! –blushes-. Now for the rest! **Narutoisuke **(haha I'm pretty sure that Sai will be making another appearance later on in the story, just because so many people seem to like him)**, mistress0of0sin **(haha I'm happy that I got you so excited for this chapter!)**, Deathangelebz **(haha you are a little pervert! Not that I really can say anything, since I'm the one writing em)**, keikopanda102 **(haha I always just felt that Sasuke would have possession issues…hence the jealousy)**, miskie27 **(Be careful what you wish for, you may just get what you want…)**, Bloodypassion **(I hope that this makes you happy, but sad at the same time…gah, it's hard to explain, just read!)**, Ayame989 **(aw thanks so much! That means a lot to me)**, Wopsidaisy **(You think that's scary, you see how I am after I get tired…which is really hard, but when it happens…-shivers-)**, fabulosfan **(-blushes- I didn't realize that people liked my writing so much! Thank you very very much!)**, ISpeakSquirrelSqeak **(haha and I guess you've decided I'm your smut dealer? Oh boy…-sighs-)**, cluelessninja65 **(well I like to make some parallels to the actual manga and stuff, so I figured a paint store would be a good place for him)**, DarkestFlameUchiha **(of COURSE it's confusing, that's what I do to try and keep my readers up on their toes! –grins- oh, and Sai is such a creep, I agree)**, XxwintersolsticexX **(haha Sasuchan is never fair and believes Sasuchan doesn't have to be. It's just the way of the Uchiha)**, norway22 **(haha, imagine a hoard of girls just chasing Naruto around while Sasuke watches and smirks)**, redfoxmoon **(The reasoning why Jiraiya brought Naruto there is explained in the chapter, don't worry! I was going to explain it last chapter but the sex scene kind of took over)**, Robyn **(haha thanks! But I'm pretty sure Sasuchan is a jealous beta and would not be happy with confessions of love)**, LuvNaruto100 **(GAH! I meant to read your story but I got completely run over with a persuasive speech and two tests! I'm really really sorry! I'll try to read it when I get time)**, Mistress-Tsukiko **(eh, you know me. I think that someone will be done and then it goes another million chapters –sighs-)**, XxMileena-chanxX **(haha silly Gaa-chan! Pay attention to the strange titles, I work hard on those!)**, sakurananachan **(and you are right again about Sasuke. Of course he is holding stuff back! But it will be revealed very VERY soon! Whether he likes it or not)**, brighteye20 **(Sasuke has to be all weird, he's not used to having emotional connections. That means he doesn't know how to really deal with them)**, RayaneKeehlJeevas **(haha I forgot lent is in session! Sorry about the long wait but I'm hoping the chapter makes up for it)**, LovelyNocturnalSunGoddess **(-scratches head- really I don't understand how I get these sex scenes going, especially since I'm not exactly a sex addict…haha but as long as you like them!)**, Itooshii Koneko **(-grabs Sasuchan- my Sasuchan! –pouts- but I guess she's pretty amazing…and you're not annoying! If anyone is, it's me for leaving so many questions)**, narubby! **(haha I'm happy that Sasuke is confusing, because he's pretty damn confusing in the real story so…)**, only4you **(yes, I do plan to bring Sai back since so many people just seemed to fall in love with him…I'm thinking of a way to get him back in now)**, sasuxxnaruxxluverxx **(haha I love how you go from crazy woman to a pleasantly happy person!)**, xXPixiexStikXx **(aw don't get so stressed! Hopefully this will make up for it!)**, Akiru chan **(haha no they never found out who killed Sasuke's parents, though they found the gloves used during the murder…and it's funny you would mention the killers of Sasuke's parents…-hint hint-)**, Fangirl66 **(aw thanks so much! I'm glad that I'm able to get you to react like that because every author wants to affect their reviwers!)**, lili **(Oh wow one of your favs? Yes! Haha that makes it all worth it!)**, roxxihearts **(haha I cant just tell you that! You have to read it silly!)**, HeartofRaven **(haha yeah I get what you were saying, and thanks!)**, Lydia-chan **(Yeah Orochimaru was the Social Service worker…haha but he'll be back later too, don't worry!)**, Tain chan **(uh…-scratches temple- sorry, I promise I didn't mean to make this sad just because of that comment…just sort of happened!)**, Kyuubi1794 **(Me and Sasuchan thank you very much for the yummy cookies!)**, FireonIce **(well I'm happy you like me, because I like reading your reviews! Oh, and I hate making Sasuke like that but Im obsessed with IC…-sighs-)**, Rasalynnlynx **(I can't tell you! You have to read it silly!)**, asdf **(Mwhahaha I'm just evil. You should know this by now…-smiles- but it all works out in the end)**, purrpolisprincess **(Yeah, I started to notice the sudden increase of the bubble at the top too…huh)**, Xxfiredance **(you really are way too funny for your own good! Sai really is the best character to make Sasuke jealous, huh?)**, Kittywoman12 **(If you all keep making me cookies, I'm going to blow up like a balloon!! Haha but I'm happy that you like the story)**, cassana-do **(haha an orgie?! Oh man, they lost out not letting Naruto and Sasuke into it! But I guess Sasuke had his fun in the end –grins-)**, kat10788 **(-munches on cookie- yup, I'm going to get way too fat to fit into my jeans by the end of this review fest…but thanks for the compliments and not killing me was a plus!)**, Pebbles of the Sand **(Well you'll have to just read and find out now won't you?)**, Kib **(-blushes- you are a trouble maker! I'm pretty sure Sasuchan blew steam when she saw your review…heehee-I mean…uh…don't do it again!)**, SkoRn3d **(yup yup, that's what Sasuke was going to say! But you'll see why he didn't in this chapter)**, 5Angel **(haha Sai just likes to stir things up and watch Naruto get all flustered! Makes him smile)**, anonymous uke **(Sorry! I wanted to explain that in the other chapter but Sasuke…uh…well he let his needs get in my mind and I forgot. But it'll be explained here)**, hollowsmile **(Well they do have to tell Naruto if his parents were killed…but it just doesn't have to be immediate…-hint hint-**, CoffeeNeurotic **(The past is always fun to mess around with when it comes to Naruto and Sasuke! –grins- always sad, but fun)**, gaaranojutsu02 **(alright, this is the fourth yummy cookie I've gotten! And you all just want me to get fat so I have to sit around and write stories for the rest of my life!)**, xMissxPepperx **(haha yes, I do like playing around with Sai. He will be making another appearance!)**, Maiden Marmalade **(Well hello! You sure were busy! Haha I loved all of your comments, thanks for the nice reviews!)**, keikeiaznqueen **(calm down girl, and wipe the drool from your mouth! It's non-sexual haha)**, Dirty little rockstar **(I don't know if I should be embarrassed or flattered, so I'll just go with the second one and say thanks!)**, jenniebennie **(I think it's so cute when boyfriends have to share clothes…so Naruto will be sharing!)**, kath **(haha, funny way of putting that…dying to know…-hint hint-)**, 7thtreasure **(probably not for another couple chapters…depends on how long the past and the development of them takes.)**, ..wings. **(haha if you do guess it, then good for you! If you don't, I'm happy that I could fool you)**, Searafina **(Aw thank you so much! That really meant a lot to me to know that someone would actually buy my work! When I read that I like smiled for the rest of the day)**, The Desiree Intent **(that seems to describe my life in general…but I promise that answers will be given in this one!)**, thndrnlghtnng **(I'm just going to say that it took me like, thrity seconds to figure out what your name meant! Haha I'm stupid like that, but somehow pull off 40,000 word stories…)**, dut **(haha yes they do get a little uh…closet in that last chapter)**, a rather slytherine griffindor **(hey hey hey! Don't go skipping school and blaming it on me! –sighs- I'm going to shut this world down with my stories)**, dreamevil **(…-HUGS- best review! I loved it, made me so so so happy! Thanks for taking the time to write that out, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy!)**, zerofangirl **(haha yeah I really added the heat to that chapter…and not going to lie, the inner thigh grab was just meant to make people squeal)**, Friglit **(haha oh boy, I don't want you to get addicted because eventually it will end!)**, Nana-Riiko **(aw thanks so much! Pacing is always such a big thing, because you don't wanna bore but you don't wanna rush…blah)**, Iiarala **(haha love the face! And thanks, I'm happy I help the Sasu/Naru population!)**, -Apocolipstic- **(Sasuke is really a friggen hard character to write, especially in a romance story…but I try!)**, Digital Cupcake **(yay! I did something that others didn't! That makes me feel like a real author)**, Robin Maxwell **(you people are so funny, you're all basically foreshadowing the chapter with your mentions of killings and death! –hint hint-)**, xRachieChanx **(Oh thank you so much! Haha yeah Sai will be in this later, and I'm happy that you really have enjoyed it so far)**, rina77 **(Alright alright, I'm trying to write as fast as my little bunnies will let me!)**, -Nightly Halo- **(haha the adorable comment might get you in hot water with Sasuchan, but thanks anyways! And heres the new chapter with a…not really big cliff hanger?)** Emmathespottedbat **(haha I love that as soon as I put Orochimaru in child services, people just assume he's a pedo. Too funny!)**, Find-ur-inner-emo **( Oh boy, the last thing I need is your dad reading this and thinking I'm some weird pervert! Haha and yeah, there will be lemons later on.)**, mockup- **(well a lot of people seem to like him in this story…I might just put Sai and Sasuke together just to have Naruto compare em! Haha)**, vixie 795 **(eh...what do you consider 'too bad'? Because I'm pretty sure that I'm surpassing it)**, Disgruntled Minion **(of course Sauske knows something, he wouldn't be Sasuke if he didn't figure it out)**, tinlizzie81592 **(Imagine how pissed/confused Naru would be if he did just got play a game?)**, Nikotehfox **(…I really shouldn't comment on this, because I will probably get you pissed off)**, sochi-kun09 **(Sai is such a good character to use because he can be funny or serious, it all just depends on his freaky ass)**, eftee **(you know, just because you put the letters together doesn't mean that I can't see it…-grins-)**, Lug-AR **(Oh…wow. Really I'm completely flattered. Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!)**, Kisa167 **(Of course he is! Even if Sasuke REALLY doesn't want to)**, Narufan4eva **(I never get tired of hearing it because it means I'm doing something right)**, Nithia **(You are just so sweet to me! I'm happy that you are enjoying the story so much, and I'm honored to have such a devoted fan! –blushes- thank you very much)**, Chiaki Megumi **(don't worry about the late review, I'm late in putting this up! Stop worrying)**, **and **homepage **(yup, he will be back in the story…somehow I will make it so)**.**

**ALRIGHT! **So this chapter title may not make sense if you have no clue who Oedipus is…so go read about him before you read this! –shoos away- 

**Warning: **** -holds out tissues- Yeah…uh….angst and tissues go hand in hand…specially with boyxboy loving.**

**Disclaimer: ****If you love something, let it go….so until ****Kishimoto Masashi 'lets it go', I don't own Naruto…grr…**

**This Irony Would Make Oedipus Wince**

Looking back now, I should have wished for Sunday to be longer. In fact, staying in Sunday forever didn't sound like a bad idea now. But how was I supposed to know everything I knew and loved would be turned upside-down on Monday? So while I lazily stumbled my way through the plain Uchiha halls, everything that Sasuke had said to me the night before flew right out of my head. He could be all mysterious and freaky if he wanted to, either way he was still a jerk. And at the moment, my stomach was the only thing that I really cared about. Well, that and the missing idiot.

Normally I was the one who woke up first. After all, I had to battle his constricting arms almost every damn time we slept together. Gah, that sounded weird. My face flushed a bit at my own wording and I shook my head to dispel it. We didn't sleep _together_. It was more of a sharing of the same mattress while exchanging heat between our bodies. I paused in the connecting hallway to think about the new explanation. Did that help or hinder my blush? Either way, it didn't change the fact that Sasuke had not only gotten up before me, but had been submerged in the huge house that I hadn't quite memorized yet. Most of the time I was in here I was secluded to Sasuke's room.

Crap, which way was the kitchen? This place needed street signs or something. I sighed and leaned against one of the hallway walls, which were a complete lack of help since they all were a solid white. Seriously, who decided to make this a maze? I bet they used to sit in some secret room and watch little kids get lost in here for fun. I frowned at the idea while I stared in front of me at the uniform wall. Sasuke's parents barely had time to move in here, never mind torture people. Plus, Sasuke's mom looked way too nice to hurt someone like that. Nothing like her son. Realizing that I was probably going to have to wait until Sasuke decided to stop being an ass and come find me, I closed my eyes. Easily I could remember the sweet smile that his mom—Mikoto, I thought—always seemed to send the camera. How did someone who seemed so kind get killed in her own home? And seeing the crime photos, it was obvious that she had died after Sasuke's father. The thought alone made me grimace.

Sasuke and Itachi had both walked in on their parents' bodies. It made my stomach twist just to look at the crime scene photos now. I didn't want to imagine how it would have felt to be twelve and walk in on my parents dead. Hell, I wouldn't want to do it now. I remembered that the paper had commented about how Itachi was a little bit older than we were now. How did he handle it? I never really found out what happened after the custody battles. Sasuke had made sure I didn't turn that page. A part of me wanted to stumble my way back to Sasuke's room and flip to the next part of the foggy past, but I didn't move. I wanted to blame it on the fact I didn't know how to get back, and not the fact I didn't want to hurt Sasuke again. If he had snapped that quickly over the first part of the photo album, he'd probably kill me for the second part. Or himself, whichever one was easier.

I groaned when my stomach lurched in pain, not giving a damn about Sasuke or his past until food was served. I banged my head once against the wall, listening to the soft thump it made. The noise made me blink once before grinning, suddenly realizing something that should have just come naturally to me.

"Sasuke!!" I shouted loudly while I pushed myself back onto my feet, listening for a few seconds before bellowing his name again. Ha! I knew my loudness would come in handy one day. And the bastard said I was useless. From how easily he seemed to find my specific hallway, he couldn't say that anymore. It barely took him a minute. But he could still glare at me for other reasons.

"Why are you shouting?" He only snapped out his question after giving me a quick once-over, as if half expecting me to be sprawled out on the floor bleeding or something. So when I sent him a goofy smile, he narrowed his gaze without appreciation.

"I knew you'd come looking for me if I shouted long enough."

"That's because your voice makes my ears bleed." If I had any lingering thoughts that last night would change the insulting asshole in front of me, they quickly dissolved. My smile dropped, but it wasn't my mouth that growled at him. I laughed sheepishly when his gaze slid to my stomach, one smooth eyebrow arched in curiosity.

"I'm pretty damn hungry, what's for breakfast?" He rolled his eyes and turned away from me, starting to stride down the hall without one glance back to see if I was following. I glared at his back while I silently fumed, but quickly I caught up to him when I realized he was the only way out of this white hell. He was silent while we mapped our way through the huge house that I could only try and remember. But there was nothing to see but white. Hell, even most of the rooms were the same color. My fingers twitched in anticipation when I remembered the colors resting comfortably in the back of Sasuke's car. I'd have to make a quick meal so we had enough sunlight to keep the windows open. It was almost February, and winter was never the ideal time to paint large rooms. But so far the morning was warm, and hopefully would stay that way throughout the day. The last thing the teme needed was to inhale too many paint fumes.

I didn't even realize I was preparing for two until I felt myself grab for two plates. Shock almost made me drop them, but I was used to fumbling things and easily I caught them. Carefully I set them onto the counter and looked to the scrambled eggs and French toast I was cooking. I could easily see all of my proportions were set for two people. I took a hesitant glance to the table, and made an incoherent noise that caught in the back of my throat. It instantly attracted the dark gaze of Sasuke, who had been in the middle of pouring a second glass of some type of juice. I could only watch in unwelcomed confusion at the pattern we had unconsciously fallen into. Since when did he think of me when preparing for breakfast? Since when did I automatically assume he wanted to eat my meals?

Since when did this almost feel _right _to me? My heart beat hard at the lingering glance that captivated my own before it turned back to the paused setting of the table. Once the trance had been diverted, I quickly resumed my preparation of breakfast.

"What were you doing up?" The silence was starting to make the red hue in my cheeks impossible to ignore. I needed a good distraction. When nothing answered me, I started to stir the cooking eggs harder. Damnit, why couldn't he just answer one question? It wasn't like I asked him to reveal his darkest secrets. I was tempted to ask the question again, but finally I heard his response enter the air.

"Sakura's phone call woke me. Then Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata's calls kept me up." I nearly dropped my spatula into the eggs. Taking a few seconds to set the plastic utensil aside, I flipped the French toast once before turning to face him.

"What the hell were they all calling you for? Heck, how do half of them even have your number?" Why was it every time I asked him a question, he had to make a face like I was executing him?

"They don't."

"But you just—"

"They called on your phone."

"What?"

"Flip the toast." I didn't like the demanding tone in his voice almost as much as the look he gave me. Why wasn't he glaring? I mean, if I had been harassed by five of his friends (if he had that many) then I would have been pissed. Sasuke, however, wasn't angry. A sharp flashback of last night shot through my mind. The slight hissing of the soaking bread broke my concentration and I quickly flipped the toast before resuming our talk.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"It wasn't necessary."

"Of course it was you asshole! My friends were calling me."

"I handled it." I sent him a seething glare, but he didn't seem affected while he moved to put the juice back into the fridge. Making sure neither thing I was cooking was burning; I shut both of the flames off before diverting my attention back to the prick in front of me.

"Well what did they want?"

"I already said I handled it. Stop being nosy." Nosy?! It was my damn phone!

"You are such a bastard. Give me back my phone, I'll call them myself and see what's going on."

"No."

"You have to, it's my phone!"

"Your phone is in my house, under my roof, in my possession. I don't have to do anything that you say." As if to emphasis his point, Sasuke shoved his hand into his pocket and gripped onto what I now guessed was my cell phone. He made it seem like I was going to just jump him and dig through his pants to get it!…Alright, so the thought had crossed my mind for a second. I mean we had been closer than that in our sleep, never mind what happened last night! I rubbed my eyes to try and get rid of the headache now forming. Why did he have to argue with me about everything? I tried to ignore the annoying voice in my head the reminded me I started 95% of the fights in order to focus on the one thing that really mattered.

"I don't even want to _be _here right now. I just want my phone so I can talk to my friends and see if they know what the heck is going on at my house."

"No."

"Damnit!" I slammed my hands on the island in front of me, glaring at his stoic face in anger. If the loud noise startled him he didn't show it, focusing on moving to the utensil drawer instead. I watched him casually pull out two forks and two knives, acting as if we weren't in the middle of an argument. My shoulders sagged in defeat when I realized that Sasuke was not going to budge. So I settled for the next best thing; answers. "Why not? Why can't I call them?"

"Hn."

"Don't you even start that stupid 'hn'ing again!" I threw air quotations in just to prove how annoying his grunts could be.

"You don't need to call them."

"I don't give a dam—"

"Trust me." The sudden interruption was enough to slam my mouth shut. I stared while Sasuke clenched his hand against one fork, his downcast stare almost burning a hole in the table. His entire body was tense, as if expecting me to lash out physically at him. I didn't need to go to four years of psychology in order to see how blatantly hard it was for Sasuke to drag his stare across the floor and up to my startled gaze. It left my lungs incapable of working right when he burned me with the same stare he had given the table. My lips were frozen shut, despite the heat that was created from the friction of my heartbeat. "Like…I'm attempting to trust…"

He trailed off after that, but the word was clear in my head. Sasuke had trusted his family, who failed him. He had faith in the police to keep his life safe, and they hadn't. He had believed in a thing called humanity, which let him down. Every time he reached out his hand in need, in a silent request of help, he'd been burned. It was a wonder the kid didn't just go crazy with paranoia of what lurked next in his messed up life. But…

He was trying to trust _me_. An 'obnoxious idiot' who had plagued his life for the past four years. The one that always had hated him for being able to do everything he wanted without breaking a sweat. Uzumaki Naruto, a kid who was unwillingly dragged into his personal life and drenched in the Uchiha past on accidental curiosity. He was trying to believe in what I said. It was why he had let me buy all that paint that he didn't even have the chance to look at. His reasoning for letting me stay at his house. The point of allowing me into his head deeper than anyone else had ever been. I had made a promise to Sasuke that I wouldn't leave him like everyone else. That I was here to stay, to root myself into his coldness and thaw it out a little. He was starting to give me the hand he had reached out to so many people with. It was my choice to burn or warm him.

"Don't break it. I'm not rich like you." I mumbled the words while I tore my gaze away from his searing eyes and back to the plates on the counter. Silently I divided the food onto each plate, my body relaxing when I heard a quiet scoff from behind me. Pale arms reached around mine for his food, and entrapped my elbows to my sides in the process. I knew I should have been embarrassed by the half hug I was enveloped in. Half the time we made contact, even through the past weeks, had been a result of anger. The other half was because we needed to remind ourselves that we weren't as alone as we thought we were. His chest pressed against my back while he slowly pulled the plate away from the counter, seeming to savor the unprovoked intimacy as much as I did. We didn't speak, because speaking would show that we were aware of the relationship our bodies were sharing. We played if off as if my breath didn't catch, and his heartbeat didn't throb against the expanse of my back. Both of us ignored the quiet pressure created along the back of my scalp and top of his forehead. The food had stopped steaming by the time he finally pulled his breakfast back to the table.

Trying to trust him didn't mean my body stopped tensing every time my phone rang in his pocket. My fingers would stop mid-cut while I watched him leave the room, only to return a few minutes later as quietly as he gone. Somehow it rubbed off on me, and it was the first meal we had eaten in silence. It stayed like that until the last phone call that 'Sasuke' had received. He snapped the phone shut when he moved into the room, and I jerked my head up at his voice.

"Jiraiya wants you to stay here again." He paused, probably to wait for some type of protest from me. But I stayed quiet, because protesting would show him how truly unsure I was with trusting Sasuke as much as I was. I simply wrinkled my nose to show my disapproval with the suggestion. "I'm shutting your phone off."

"What? Why? What if Jiraiya needs to call me again?!"

"He's been informed of my house and cell phone number. He will be able to contact you." At his explanation I groaned, shoving the last piece of the soggy French toast into my mouth before leaning my head back onto the chair.

"Shit, I haven't even started my science project. The teacher's going to have my ass on a silver platter," I muttered, smacking my forehead with my palm.

"You'll be excused for the next couple of days." He said it with such certainty that it forced my gaze back onto him.

"You know how much of a bitch Anko can be."

"She'll be quiet." And he would know better than anyone else. But at that time, I simply frowned at him while he rose from the seat and moved to grab his car keys from the counter. "Clean this up while I go grab your supplies."

"Just because I cook better than you doesn't mean I'm your friggen housewife."

"You're too ugly for that role." I chucked a piece of butter at him, but he quickly evaded it before moving to the entranceway. He gave a look back to the yellow substance and scoffed. "Clean that up before I get back."

"Bastard!" He smirked at me with such arrogance when he left that I wanted to shove that butter somewhere not so pleasant. And I wasn't talking about his ear. I grumbled through the entire cleaning process, which didn't bother me half as bad as the fact that he seemed to almost _expect _me to listen to him. The only reason I was doing it was because I wanted to start the painting.

I got my revenge when we started to slap the neutral brown paint onto the large walls of his living room one hour later. We had to move most of the furniture into the hall before we could lay the tarp down, and the clutter seemed to bother Sasuke more than he wanted to show. After we moved the furniture, Sasuke grabbed us both 'disposable' clothes in case the paint wouldn't come out. Who would have thought the teme would actually own a pair of sweatpants? But really it made sense after taking into consideration the dress requirement for gym class.

I made him do the first damage to the pristine white walls. After a bit of talking (which was more like a broken record of 'no' and 'yes'), I agreed to keep all of the trim work white. It was probably easier than having to go back to Lowes and get more paint. In return, he had to agree to start the painting process. What seemed like nothing to most human beings was probably a lot harder than I could guess for Sasuke. With the exception of the pictures, the house had stayed exactly how it was when his parents first stepped into it. Since the house was brand new, nobody else had lived here before the Uchihas. White walls were cheaper to do, and easier to sell to more conservative people. They never got around to changing the color scheme, and Sasuke seemed in no hurry until I forced him to dip the paintbrush into the can and drag it down in one Highland Ridge brown stroke. I could see the evident wobble in the line, despite Sasuke's passive stare.

But it seemed with every foot of wall we covered, Sasuke's tense muscles relaxed. I didn't have to continue to remind him to keep painting, and by the end of the first wall, you'd think he was the one who came up with the whole idea. He had agreed to let me play some music on the television, which was the first mistake Uchiha Sasuke had made in his life. Because throwing me, music, and a paintbrush together was the reason why my walls were so out of control at my house. He should have expected my energetic singing while I painted to the beat of the song.

"_I'm bouncing off the walls again  
I'm looking like a fool again  
Waking up on the bathroom floor  
Pull myself together just to fall once more._" I jumped at the last part, my paintbrush making a large arch with the new paint before jarring down into a diagonal. When Sasuke sent me a warning glare I grinned before I started to press my sing the next verse. "_And my heart's still beating out of my chest  
And this town is still making me sick—"_

"Lower the-"_  
"And every penny from my last paycheck  
I've blown on you!" _And to add injury to insult, I pointed my paint brush at the eye-roll that Sasuke sent me. Really, the lyrics were a little too close for my normal comfort, seeing that the paint supplies _had _cost me my entire check for the week. But I let it roll off my shoulders while I bent to grab more paint.

"Stop singing." Like I was going to listen to him.

"_I'm bouncing off the walls again  
I'm looking like a fool again  
So go ahead and take a picture  
And hang it up so you can tear me down!" _By now, the paint brush became a microphone and I didn't noticed where the spray from the bristles was going. When you're a rock star, nothing else matters besides the screaming of your song into the microphone. So if you hit a certain fan, or stoic painting bastard in this case, they should be grateful to even be in your presence. He didn't seem to feel the same way that I did.

"Naruto—"

"_I don't care  
Cause I'm still here  
And I've got nothing to lose  
With all the years I wasted on you!" _

"_Dobe._" Apparently Sasuke wasn't a fan of Sugarcult. I found that out the hard way when I was roughly shoved into the same wall I bad been singing about. And no, I didn't bounce off of it quite like I thought I would. I tossed my head up to yell at him for the completely unneeded pain that now danced along the bottom of my spine.

"Teme!" I blinked once when I looked at his face, and started to laugh at the spray of brown paint that darted along both of his cheeks and nose in a straight blotted line. "What the hell happened to your face?!"

"You did."

"How?"

"You were flailing, idiot."

"You look so stupid!" It really wasn't helping my case, but I didn't care. It wasn't everyday that you saw Sasuke decked out in a pair of sweatpants, a baggy shirt, and paint splayed all over his face. Adding it to his grumpy expression was almost too much to handle.

"Hn." My muffled laughter still reached my ears when he leaned down to punish (could we even call it punishment now?) me, pressing our mouths together in an unorganized kiss. My chuckles slowly disappeared at the attention that was now needed to focus on the tongue gliding along my bottom lip. Really the only part of this that was still a penalty was when we'd have to pull away. Sasuke probably was trying to seek revenge of his own for the paint splatter, which would be too childish to flick back. But apparently, making out against the wall seemed perfectly mature and reasonable in his whacky mind. Not that my weak groan into his parted lips was a complaint. My free hand travelled to the back of his neck, encouraging the contact of our bodies and shivering when his slim thigh pressed my legs apart. I almost released a whine when he pulled away from our kiss, almost seeming lazy in the rising of his eyelids. Damn, I hated how composed he always was while I panted to catch my breath.

"What?" I mumbled, not liking the distance between our lips. Space meant area to think, and thinking never seemed to work when it came to me and Sasuke. But he already had the wheels turning in his head, and the kiss was a lost cause when he pulled away from me. Frustrated at the fact that I was frustrated, I raked my hand through my hair and bent down to grab the paintbrush I had dropped during the kiss. "Alright, let's finish this."

Somehow we managed to get through the painting. Not to say we didn't have three more 'interruptions' during our working. I mean, it wasn't _my _fault that he called me a dobe. And of course I had to respond with teme!

…Twice.

By the time we finished and let the paint dry, darkness had eaten the warming rays of daylight and left us with a blanket of fatigue hanging on our shoulders. I threw together a quick set of grilled cheese sandwiches and rice while Sasuke showered, a path I took once dinner was done. I made sure he was the one cleaning the mess this time to remind him of what I said earlier. Borrowing Sasuke's clothes again, I finished slipping into the warm sleepwear before dragging myself back into Sasuke's room. The jerk was already in bed, a textbook lying on his lap while he wrote quietly on his homework sheet. I scrunched my nose while I crawled onto the bed, peeking over the sheet while I worked my way under the blankets.

"Did the great Uchiha forget to do homework? You're slacking." He sent a bored glance up at me, but didn't stop his hand from writing another perfect answer on the sheet.

"It's due on Wednesday. I finished my homework for tomorrow already." See? Perfect. I sighed loudly and fell onto my side, easily finding comfort in the darkness behind my eyes.

"You should be one of those kids that get shoved into his locker because he makes all of us look bad." But even when I said it, I couldn't help but snort at how crazy the thought was. Even if he was a dork when it came to academics, he still could kick almost anyone's ass. I was the one that marred that part of his 'perfection'.

"Don't speak if your stupidity is all you intend to offer." I mumbled something even I didn't understand, and I turned away from him when the slapping of book signaled Sasuke was finished with whatever he was working on. Even though it was already black behind my eyelids, I could still tell when he shut the lights off in the room. I felt his body slide slowly into the warmth of the sheets, and I wanted to curse at how easily my muscles relaxed. Like they were waiting for him or something. Sleep crept through my body, but not quick enough for my mind to ignore the soft skin gliding along my hip to capture my body into a hold that was once unintentional. That I once used to be scared of.

The only thing I did was sigh before completely succumbing to my slumber.

Maybe the morning was a little too well set up for Monday. I woke up to watch water pour against the window in Sasuke's room. That should have been clue one. The second was the fact that I had woken up twenty minutes earlier than Sasuke's alarm. I was still tired, but my body didn't seem to want to wait for the inescapability of the unknown. Sasuke didn't seem quite as eager. Then again, Sasuke _never _seemed enthusiastic for anything short of a pot of gold. And even then, I'm sure he'd just scoff. Maybe Kakashi was right about the fact we only talked through insults, because our morning was filled with eerie silence.

Continually Sasuke glanced to the clock, as if waiting for it to jump off the wall and attack him. Why I was able to notice something so minuet bothered me enough to keep quiet through the drive to school. He drove slowly, because of the heavy rain or his own apprehension I'll never know. I didn't really complain though. Mondays always sucked. And it seemed to be a normal bleak Monday when we had to run from the parking lot to the school. Why we even tried to stay dry I didn't know, since we were completely drenched from the run anyways. I laughed for the first time while I walked through the side door, shaking my mop of hair to try and dislodge the water. Sasuke, who was too old to follow my lead, simply ran his fingers through his hair.

"You look like a drenched rat." He snorted at my comparison as we made our way through the cafeteria and toward the lockers. I had heard the bell signaling a ten minute warning go off when we had been trying to dry off, which explained the now empty lunchroom. "Damn, I hate Mondays."

"You hate any day that involves the need for your brain to function." Was it just me, or did his insults seem off today? I glanced over at him from the corner of my eye when we finally pushed into the hallway, but I didn't get the chance to really ask what was wrong with him. As if we had just shot someone, the hallway's normal noise died, and I felt several pairs of eyes jerk our way. I arched an eyebrow slowly, glancing to Sasuke who seemed unaffected by the abnormal behavior. I moved next to him while glancing around, instantly becoming aware to two things. One was the lack of eye contact that anyone would make with me. It was like I was transformed into Medusa or something. If anyone could turn people to stone with their glare, it would be the stoic guy that walked next to me.

The second, more irritating thing was the whispering I could hear. Sure, girls normally got quiet and giggled when Sasuke would make his appearance in school. But when I heard no laughter, no obsessive coos or squeals, I realized it wasn't normal. That idea was cemented in my head when I made out several different people whispering _my _name. Did they all know about my house? I mean yeah, normally people didn't get the police over their houses. But it wasn't like I did anything wrong, and break-ins happened all the time. I was expecting a few teasing comments from some of my friends about leaving my doors unlocked or something. I wasn't prepared for the almost uncomfortable stares I was getting.

"They make it seem like they've never heard of robberies before." I jerked my locker open while slugging my wet jacket off my back.

"Just ignore them. It'll stop eventually." The sentence made me pause to look at the slightly taller guy next to me. Did he just give me advice? My expectations were now not only thrown out the window, but hit with a Mac truck and then rolled over by some little granny in a wheelchair. Sasuke giving advice to me was like Kakashi announcing he was going to become a priest. I'm pretty sure those were signs of the apocalypse.

"Uh…yeah," I said, weakly shutting my locker when the second bell sounded. "Great, I have to deal with Anko. Do me a favor and just shoot—"

"Stop." I winced when I remembered his parents and quickly held my hands in front of me.

"Didn't mean it like that. I'll stop saying that around you." What I thought would be comforting statements only made his eyes grow sharper in his glare.

"Do yourself a favor and forget that saying ever existed. And…" I was prepared for some insults, because it what was we did when we were angry. Well, that or kiss, but I figured Sasuke wouldn't complicate things in front of everyone in the hall. We had enough people looking at us. But no insult came.

"And what?" I was a glutton for punishment, only confirming my theory by asking a dumb question like that.

"Get to class." Well at least some things never changed. Like Sasuke's attitude. He walked off to whatever morning class he had while I dragged myself through the halls, now trying to ignore how everyone was staring. Sasuke had said it would pass, right? I nodded to myself before moving into my science class, trying to repeat the advice Sasuke had said at the continued whispering around me. Hell, even Anko seemed hesitant to call on me. She didn't ask about my missing project, and didn't comment when I started to doodle on the notebook Sasuke had let me borrow. I should have realized then something was wrong. Sometimes the hardest things to notice are the ones you need to.

"Shika! Dog breath! " Kiba and Shikamaru's conversation stopped when I hopped into my seat, gently hitting Kiba's shoulder while I grinned. "Please tell me that you guys aren't going to get all quiet on me. I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime."

"Ignore them." Came a yawned reply from my sleepy companion. Though Shikamaru seemed his regular lazy self, Kiba was a bit less talkative than normal. I brushed it off to the Monday morning blues. Even though it was third period, it was barely past eleven.

"Man, you sound like Sasuke," I said, rolling my eyes. He returned his reply with a shrug. "Do you ever sleep?"

"I try in English, but Ino won't let me. Something about 'important for life'. Troublesome girl."

"Oh hey! How'd your date go anyways?" He casually brushed his arms closer to his face, but his slight blush still peeked out from his shield. "Look Kiba! Shikamaru is getting all embarrassed about his date with Ino. Our little Shika is growing up. We're should be proud parents."

"Proud parents…" I turned my head to Kiba, and blinked at the strange look he gave me. But it seemed to pass when he smiled and ruffled my wet hair. "Are you planning on getting a sex change for me?"

"Hey!" I smacked his hand from my head, glaring at him and growling. "Like I'd ever date an idiot like you!"

"Too many similarities." Sasuke entered the conversation when he moved into the seat next to me, dropping his books onto the desk and sighing.

"Hey, let's get one thing straight. I don't smell like a dog, and I don't have fleas."

"And I have a brain and charm that girls can't resist." Kiba flashed a smile that made me scoff.

"I've probably got more brains in my right toe than you do in your entire body."

"You're both too loud." Shikamaru mumbled through his arms, trying to block out our laughter in order to sleep. Our humor started to die when the teacher came into the room, and it was only then I remembered the stares I kept getting. Leaning my head in my hand, I sent an annoyed glance around the room and smirked when the glances darted anywhere but me. Feeling slightly victorious in my work, I sent a lazy glance to Sasuke and watched the quiet way he took notes. Whenever the teacher started to lecture, I scrambled to remember everything that he had said so I could write them down somewhere in my disorganized notebook. But Sasuke seemed to wait for what he considered note-worthy before legibly writing the information in chronological order, keeping a date on the top of every page. When he wasn't writing, two fingers rested against his temple while the other bent digits rested on his cheek and his thumb supported his chin. Even when he was relaxing he looked posed!

"Is there a reason why you're staring?" His quiet mumble almost went unnoticed, but I quickly recovered with a scoff.

"Wondering how someone pulls off the prick look without even trying."

"Hn." I lifted my head at the sound of the intercom going off, and instantly groaned when I heard Shizune's voice calling my name to the office. Great, what did they want to torture me with now? I sighed and slowly pushed myself out of my seat, half expecting Sasuke's name to follow mine. So when nothing besides 'thank you' finished off Shizune's announcement, I frowned. Apparently Sasuke didn't seem to enjoy the fact his name was missing either, because his eyes narrowed at the speaker for a second. I didn't have time to ask what was wrong, the teacher already ushering me out of the room.

The walk was short, but filled with me trying to figure out which rule I had broken this time. Maybe that pervert Kakashi had another trick up his sleeve for me? But then why hadn't they called Sasuke too? Or maybe it was school related? I probably got written up by Anko for not doing that homework. And here the bastard said I wouldn't get in trouble for it! He acted like he knew everything, like he didn't even need to be in school. I huffed and pushed open the office door, deciding that anger was much easier to deal with than confusion. Shizune softly waved and allowed me into Tsunade's office, making sure my presence was known to the principal. Or, at least I thought it was just Tsunade.

"What the hell is the pervert doing here?!" Two heads looked up at me blinking, and I mentally slapped myself when I realized I had way too many weirdoes in my life. I needed new nicknames. "Either one of you can answer."

"Well I was asked to come by Tsunade." The younger of the two said, smiling just as creepily as he did during every therapy session.

"As was I." Alright, that one I didn't believe one bit.

"Granny banned you from the school! There's no way in hell she wants you here!" But when I looked over to see her confirm my accusation, I immediately saw the off look on Tsunade's face. She was normally pissed when I walked into her office, but this anger was different. She seemed more frustrated than anything else.

"Sit down Naruto." I nodded and made myself comfortable in the chair I had distinctly named as my own. I mean after all, my ass was planted there more than anyone else's.

"Alright, whatever Kakashi was telling you was a lie. Me and Sasuke haven't fought all week…well physically we haven't but w—oh! And tell him to keep his lips away from me!" I shouted, glaring over at the therapist.

"Yes, I know that you and Sasuke's positive punishment is working very well. If anything, I would be congratulating you on your progress." Kakashi's eyes shone with knowledge that bothered me enough to blush. How the heck did he know anything about the past week? We hadn't spoken to him since Wednesday, and I knew that I'd be able to spot that mess of silver hair sticking out from bushes in front of my house. I highly doubted he knew where Sasuke lived. So how did he smile like he knew exactly what I was thinking of?

"Why the hell am I here?" I wanted to get off the subject quick. I wanted to finish this meeting and get away from Kakashi for another two days. I glanced between the three of them, watching any sense of humor slowly evaporate from the room. Their eyes switched from me to each other, as if choosing who would speak first.

"Naruto," Tsunade said slowly, her eyes now focusing on me. "It about Saturday. There…there's been an accident."

"Well duh, my house was broken into. Did you find the people who did it? I want to kick their asses!" How stupidly naïve I must have seen, staring up at them in childish ignorance. Maybe Sasuke was right, about me always being too young or immature for my own good. After Monday, I knew a part of that died inside of me.

"Yes, Naruto. One of the men was found in the house when the police got there. Along with some other troubling things." My stomach suddenly cramped in uneasiness when I watched the normally smiling therapist move forward to lean against the front of Tsunade's desk, his smile seeming much faker than ever before. The uncomfortable beat my heart had picked up started to bother my chest, but I tried to ignore it.

"What do you mean? If you found the guy, there's no problem." I acted like denying it would make their solemn faces disappear. My hand involuntarily fisted into Sasuke's borrowed jeans when the attempt didn't work.

"When we first called you home, we were…unaware of the severity of the problem. We had thought it was a simply robbery, but after the police went in to secure the area…" Tsunade stopped, as if looking for a nice way to put her next few thoughts. But Jiraiya knew it was like trying to drop and glass face fifty feet without breaking it.

"I don't want to sugar coat it for you, kid; because I know you're too strong for that." I watched Jiraiya slowly move from the space on the wall to stand a few feet in front of me. I tilted my head to look up at him, unsure if I wanted him to open his mouth or not. For the first time in days, I didn't want to know what happened in my house. But, time stopped for nobody. "We found your parents."

"Found…" Never before did a word speak as loudly as that. Found, like a lost toy, like some raggedy blanket that had been shoved into the bottom of the closet. It was obvious what he meant, despite my need to check. "Where ar-are they?"

"They're being transported." A pause, possibly for dramatic effect. Maybe I imagined it, because everything seemed to be going in slow motion now. "Their autopsies have to be done in another town. Konoha doesn't normally have cases like this."

"I…" My eyes wandered without reason around the room, as if searching for something to keep me from seeing the pain in their features. My fingers were digging so hard into my leg; I thought I was going to rip through Sasuke's jeans. The twisting in my stomach wound tighter, and I almost threw my head between my knees to stop the urge of throwing up. Several times I felt the cool air swipe my cracked lips before I shut my mouth again with nothing to say. After several seconds of silence, reality slammed into me and I dropped my head down to keep my face out of their line of vision. Tears burned my eyes while I struggled to listen to my own thoughts that now raged in my head like an untamed beast.

"W-w…why?" I didn't care who answered. I just needed something to keep my mind from falling apart. I focused my blurry gaze on the fingers that were trembling against my thigh. Kakashi was the first to speak.

"I don't think we should give you details, Naruto. Your very vulner— "

"Someone te-tell me why!" I shouted, my head shaking. Nothing else was acceptable right now. And I would have stayed in that chair until I starved to find out what had happened to the parents I had needed in my life. Why was it they could only make it home when they were dead? Why wouldn't they come back to me before that?

"Your father was a very generous and passionate man. He was loved by everyone in this town, you have to know that." I could hear the tears filling Tsunade's voice, and I felt a piece of my heart break. Granny never cried. Why did she care so much about me, when my own parents couldn't be bothered? Why did she watch over me and protect me from the people who wanted me expelled or punished much harder than she ever did? Didn't she see what everyone else had my entire life? How useless they thought I was? "And your mother was beautiful and smart. Your stubbornness and mischief comes from her. They were wonderful people, Naruto."

"People who gave up their lives for your safety." I lifted my head up to the only man that tried to show me how worthless everyone's opinion of me was. Jiraiya wasn't crying like Tsunade. He didn't lower his gaze like Kakashi. He didn't bat an eyelash at the tears that battled their way down my scarred cheeks. "Back when you were eight years old, your father was one of the best cops this town had ever seen. Nothing stopped him from doing his job and staying truthful to the people who lived here. So when he was asked to help in an ongoing investigation a few towns over, to help ensure peace continued in Konoha, he agreed. He worked closely with the town officials in Suna as an undercover cop. It took almost two full years, but your father and his partner were able to break up the trafficking of drugs in Suna and arrested some of the main people directly connected to the drugs. He was a hero to all of us.

"Unfortunately, not everyone was as excited with your father's work. Information was leaked from the confidential files of the case, and Minato's identity was revealed to the wrong people. I remember him telling me about the death threats your mother started to receive at home. The few drug lords who escaped were broke, jobless, paranoid, and wanted revenge on the men who ruined their plans. One of them was Minato, your father. He received death notes, the drug gang's signs spray painted on the house, and even a brick through your living room window. The last straw came when you and your mother had almost been killed when a timed bomb was activated inside of your mother's car. Luckily, your mother wasn't feeling good that morning and I took you to school instead of her."

"I don't…remember any of this," I mumbled weakly. And really, everything that they were telling me was completely new to me.

"It's called motivated forgetting. Sometimes a person's brain will erase a traumatic or unwanted memory and revise it as something else. It's almost like a defense mechanism of the mind. It explains why some women can't recall what their attacker looks like after a raping," Kakashi explained slowly. I nodded once before numbly wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands. The vivid emotions from before were slowly starting to dull and numb my senses, leaving me feel empty.

"Your father and mother decided that they were putting you in too much danger. Moving you would do nothing, because your father's information was spread throughout the drug community in the towns around Konoha and Suna. No matter where they went, you would have been in imminent danger. Your father didn't want his actions to ruin your life, and he decided it was impossible to bring you with them. What he did to try and protect you ended up being the main reason why you were in danger. As you can see, no good deed goes unpunished. So they planned to run away…after I promised them that you would be taken care of by me."

"You…knew?" I stared at Jiraiya, who seemed guiltless when he nodded his head at my question. My heart ached as I stumbled out of my chair, throwing space between us. "You knew they were going to leave me? And you just let them go? You told me you didn't know why they left! You said…you said…you lied to me!"

"Your father made me promise to never tell you the truth of why he left. He was my son, who was I to deny him of the one wish he asked me for?" Sharp eyes showed no guilt or remorse, because he didn't feel them. And deep down, I knew exactly why my parents didn't want me to know. If I had known I was the reason they gave up their lives in Konoha, I wouldn't have been the same. I leaned my arm against the wall to try and keep my emotions in check. But it was hard. _Really _hard.

"They were coming back here…why?" Even as I spoke, I leaned my head against my arm and closed my eyes.

"Your father has been sending me letters periodically throughout the past seven years. He never would tell me where he was in case the letter was intercepted. Wherever they were staying was becoming too dangerous. They were planning on flying to Germany next month. Both of them had connections over there. Before they left, they wanted to come and say a proper goodbye this time around. Unfortunately, their plans were cut short." I flinched as if the sentence had caused me physical harm. Just twenty four hours ago, I was wondering how it felt for Itachi to deal with the discovery of his parent's bodies. I could barely stand hearing about it. My body was shaking despite how many times I mentally cursed myself for acting weak.

"We won't have your parents back, but…we're planning on having a memorial service for them on Friday." Tsunade's gentle voice made my eyes weakly open to stare at the floor. This was all happening too fast. A half hour ago, I was laughing with Shikamaru and Kiba. How did this happen? I wasn't ready for all of it. I felt like I was drowning, like everything was pressing on my chest and trying to suffocate me. I didn't know what triggered my decision, but I was out of the room before they even had time to blink. I didn't know where I planned to go or how far I'd make it on foot but…

For once, I needed to be alone.

**And they never hear from Naruto again….haha belated April fools! Of course they did! Sorry about Sasuke's past still being a mystery, but he just had to get all sexy with the painting and romantic with the breakfast…gah that bastard! –shakes head- So where will Naruto go? Who will find him first? What will happen when the past surfaces and clashes with the present? But most importantly…just**_** how**_** entangled are Sasuke and Naruto's lives? Well you'll have to review and wait for the next chapter! Bye bye! **


	10. Nurse My Wounds, I'm no Superman

Hello everyone! I actually planned to get this out sooner, but I really get distracted very easily…haha, opps. Alright, so normally I put the review responses here, but I have been warned that I could get **banned** if I continue to do that. =( **So**, because I don't want to just get reviews and not respond to you guys, I have decided to answer you in a journal. It'll be on 'deviantART', and just search my name (**Navybluewings13**) for the journal posts! I'm hoping that this will be easy for you guys and will make sure I don't get kicked off the site. So thanks again!

**Warning: ****Uh…if you haven't gotten the clue yet…I am a boyxboy lover lemon! **

**Disclaimer: ****Opps….forgot the disclaimers –sees angry lawyers-uh…don't own Naruto, don't throw lawsuits at me!!**

Nurse my Wounds, I'm No Superman

Running away from the school sounded like a good idea at the time. Maybe I thought if I got away from where they told me the news, it would all go away. Maybe I wasn't thinking at all. Suppressed memories of my parents continued to flash in my head while I pushed through the doors, not giving my body time to breathe before I sprinted down the stairs. This wasn't real. I continued to repeat that in my head, as if somehow the fake words would make everything go back to normal. They couldn't be dead. Missing was fine, because it meant that maybe one day they would make it back and I'd finally be able to have the family that had been taken from me. But dead? There was no coming back from dead.

So caught up with my mental breakdown, I wasn't sure where I was going. Or rather how I managed to get anywhere without getting run over by a car or at least running straight into a tree. I followed an imaginary path, which my body seemed to map out on its own. I went down several streets, through town and by shops that now seemed so distant from me. Actually, everything felt frozen in my mind. I watched people look at me and then away, pity and sympathy evident in their eyes. I almost wanted to laugh at how pathetic it was. For years they had shunned and ignored me, and yet now they felt bad. Now that they realized my parent's disappearance wasn't because I was a reject or broken, they decided I was worth their emotional time. The bitterness I normally pushed down just made me run faster.

When I finally stopped, it took me a minute to realize where I was. The rain clouded any chance of seeing the sun, so I wasn't sure how long I had run for. By the pain shooting through my legs and how soaked my clothes were, I knew it was a while. My heavy breathing was the only sound in front of the silent mansion. The large black gate stared down at my tired body while I recovered. Why had I come to Sasuke's house? Hell, he wasn't even home. Despite the knowledge I moved forward, wrapping my fingers along the cold iron bars. I closed my eyes and let the metal cool my forehead when I pressed my head against the gate, trying to stop myself from shaking.

"Damnit." What else was there to say? Despite how strong I wanted to be, I was hurt. _It has to hurt_. That's what Sasuke had said to me. I should have known something was going on. No wonder he had been acting so strange at my house that night. He probably knew before all of the phone calls started to come in. After all, it must have mirrored what his parent's murder scene looked like all those years ago. I wondered if that was why I had come here. Sasuke knew and didn't tell me. He _knew _that while I sat there and goofed around and smiled and _lived_, my parent's lifeless bodies were being taken out of my house. Our house. I wanted to hit him almost as much as I wanted to stop the welling of tears again.

I didn't mind crying, really. I'm sure the bastard would disagree with me, saying something about how tears showed how pathetic somebody was. Most guys saw it as weakness. But really, I wasn't most guys. Tears showed the humanity inside of a person. They showed the strength of being able to care about something, to allow something into your life. It was easy to push people away and accept the numbness of isolation. It was hard to let people in and give them the power to hurt you. So I didn't bother to try and hide my mental breakdown. It wasn't like Sasuke was here anyways.

Or at least I thought he wasn't. But when the gate suddenly started to open, I stumbled back in shock. Shit, did he see me? Just how long was I out of it? I thought I had at least another hour before school got out. I wiped my eyes quickly before passing through the gate, moving up toward the mansion slowly. Emotions swished in my stomach with every step, but I tried to push it back. Like I really needed to become a train wreck in front of the bastard. I pushed open the door loudly, breathing deeply to still the trembling of my hands. I looked around the large room, waiting for a scowl or glare to be sent my way. But there was nobody there for me to yell at. Confused and completely done with the manic Monday, I cursed and stormed through the hall.

"Sasuke! Get your ass out here!" I listened to my voice echo while I peeked my head into the painted living room. The dark brown now rested comfortably against the walls in a way that made my smile appear for a second. It had come out better than I had thought. Absentmindedly I walked into the room and pressed my fingers against the wall me and Sasuke had started with. It felt like yesterday was years back instead of merely hours.

"I was surprised to see the room painted." I jumped at the quirky voice, and I turned around quickly to see none other than the perverted therapist leaning in the doorway. I knew the confusion was evident from the smile he sent me. "I expected to find you here."

"How did you know?"

"It's my job to know you. I am your therapist after all." He seemed too casual in a home that wasn't his. Which brought up another question.

"What the hell are you doing in teme's house?!"

"Ah ah ah…keep speaking like that and I may think you enjoy your punishment." Kakashi winked at me, making me blush. I hated how easily it had become. Before I could deny or scream at him, the therapist moved forward into the room. "Humans are creatures of habit. When threatened or disturbed, they normally will return to what psychologists call 'safe spots'. Unfortunately your safest spots, your or Jiraiya's house were unattainable at the time. Your home no longer was safe to you because of your parents' attacks, and Jiraiya is not mentally comforting because of your earlier argument with him. So the last reasonable place was here, your temporary home."

"So you broke into his house and waited for me? Isn't that against the law?"

"I assure you that there was no breaking in needed," he said, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. He swung it around his finger once before catching it in his palm.

"Where did you get keys?"

"I was at the school. Is it not possible that Sasuke gave them to me?"

"Sasuke wouldn't do that. The bastard's way to anal to just let you waltz into his house," I snapped, already on edge from the earlier events. I didn't need the mind games today.

"I suppose you are correct. I'm very impressed with you observation of him." Kakashi still had a mischievous look about him before he moved toward the couch, smiling while he pointed to the cushion next to him. "But let's leave that mystery unanswered for right now. I have a story to tell you, Naruto."

"Look, I don't want a story. I just want to be alone."

"I'm afraid leaving you alone wouldn't be healthy right now. And I'm sure this story will catch your interest. You are curious about how similar you and Sasuke are? Come, sit down and I'll tell you as much as I can about Itachi and the trials." I froze at the mention of Sasuke's older brother. How did Kakashi know about him? I shifted through our meetings while I moved forward, trying to remember a time either of us had brought up family. But there was nothing. Just what was Kakashi and Sasuke's connection?

"You know about them? The trials?" He nodded at my questioning.

"Yes I do. A very grim story really." As if watching the words written around us, Kakashi travelled his gaze along the painted room. "At the time, Sasuke would have been…he was about twelve, as I recall. The two boys were brought into my office about a month after the incident occurred. Sasuke was much more vocal back then, more emotional too. He was still having a hard time understanding what had actually occurred with his parents. Itachi, however, seemed much calmer and composed. It's always been his nature. Even through the trials, the examinations, and personal conversation, Itachi is nothing but refined and calm."

"Like Sasuke?"

"Sasuke may not seem very emotional to you, but he has his moments. The difference between him and his older brother is that Sasuke holds onto feelings and uses them to decide his course of life. Sasuke suffers from something called 'reaction formation'."

"Reacto what?"

"Reaction formation. What happens is that the ego, which in this case would be Sasuke, acts completely opposite of what he is feeling. His parents' deaths had left him alone and feeling unwanted, and now he insists on keeping it that way. Not because he wants to be, but because he doesn't want to face the anxiety of reality. He stays away from most everyone that has attempted to become acquainted with him. The anger, however, was sparked from an unfortunate incident with Itachi during the trials."

"That's why he got so upset when I touched that photo album! He was angry because the clippings were in it, right?" I closed my eyes when he ruffled my hair, and a slight ache in my heart reminded me of how often Jiraiya did that to me. But I didn't want to go back down that path. I wanted to focus on something else, something that didn't make me feel so vulnerable. Kakashi had said Sasuke was like me, and I needed to know how. Because I wanted to know I wasn't alone.

"I forgot about Itachi's album." At the response I blinked, slowly turning my attention back on him.

"No…no, it's Sasuke's album."

"Well I suppose he would keep it. But Sasuke wasn't the one who started that collection. You have to remember that Sasuke was very young at the time, and would have been unable to get those crime scene photographs or organized them as well as Itachi had. Because their father was a very powerful man in politics as well as the police, Itachi was able to use that in order to obtain several things a twelve year old Sasuke wouldn't be able to."

Slowly, I leaned against the back of the couch in confusion. So Sasuke claimed he hated his brother; that I knew. He may not have said it, but his glares and tone change whenever we talked about Itachi spoke up for his surface words. But that didn't add up with his actions. Not only did he continue to drive Itachi's car around, but he kept the photo album in his room with several pictures of them together. Why would he keep so much of someone that he hated inside of his world?

"None of that makes sense. Sasuke hates his brother," I said.

"Sasuke may be upset and extremely hurt by his brother, but he doesn't hate him. Sasuke simply feels betrayed because…well, because of the incident. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's start with the actual custody fight over Sasuke."

"It was between Itachi and some guy, right? Because Itachi wanted to keep Sasuke, but that child service guy didn't want them to."

"Yes, it was. Orochimaru tried to defend that Itachi was unstable and unable to keep custody. Though some people could see through his false claims and sided with Itachi, many thought that his position as a social worker deemed him a liable source of information. The trials started a few months after I had started my therapy business, and I was called in to try and see if there was anything truly wrong with their mental health. Although I call myself a therapist, there is no actual therapy degree. I had to go through another major. Although most therapists go through the medical route, I decided the psychology schooling would be more beneficial to me. At the time I lived in the same town with them, and so I was the most accessible."

"You knew Sasuke before this?!" Despite my shouting, Kakashi seemed perfectly fine with nodding his head.

"Yes I did. But that is not the focus of this story, Naruto. After several weeks of talking to them and examining their reactions, I concluded that both were as stable and recommended that they be kept together. By taking them away from everything that they know, it would leave them emotionally and mentally vulnerable. Keeping family members together has been shown to be more effective after a traumatic experience. Like you showed earlier, humans like to return to places they not only feel safe in, but they know. Keeping Itachi with Sasuke would help him cope with the new aspects of his life much better than separating them."

"So then…why aren't they together?" A flicker of darkness went through Kakashi's normally happy expression, but he casually looked around the room while he smiled.

"Unfortunately, Orochimaru had more strings than I expected. Although my finding were true and backed up by several case studies, Orochimaru knew the judge personally. Itachi realized the connection almost as quickly as I had, which amazed me. For a young adult, he is extremely intelligent. And because of this genius ability, he was also able to realize how futile the fight was. Because I was extremely new in the business of therapy, I didn't have the credentials or 'experience'. It was why Orochimaru was so accepting to the idea of using me. He knew beforehand what I was going to find, as well as how fresh from college I was. It left Itachi's defense completely helpless."

"That's not fair! Why didn't you fight it?"

"We did try. Unfortunately, it's hard to get your point across to a biased judge." I fumed silently at the truthful information. And from the way Orochimaru's mind seemed to work, he had the court planned out the way he wanted. It seemed he got anything he wanted.

"Then…Orochimaru is Sasuke's guardian?" So when Kakashi shook his head, I was confused. Didn't he just say Orochimaru had set everything up? He had the judge for him, and had discredited the defense's therapist. How did he not get Sasuke? "Then is it Itachi?"

"No, Itachi is not his guardian. But he is the reason for why Orochimaru didn't become Sasuke's guardian as well."

"How?"

"Itachi—"

"Stop talking about him." The almost feral voice made me jerk my attention back to the entrance where Sasuke now stood. A glare I had gotten to know was now fixated on Kakashi, who seemed just as immune to the look. Even when Sasuke stiffly walked into the room, Kakashi was calm with his response.

"You're out of school early. I'm assuming that Tsunade finally told you where he was."

"You told her not to tell me."

"I told her I needed to talk with Naruto alone, yes."

"About my life? I'm not the one who lost—" He stopped himself, but I already had finished it for him in my head. _ Lost their parents today. _Unwillingly my body flinched and it became hard to meet Sasuke's gaze. If he was sorry he didn't show it, but didn't continue. Well, at least he didn't twist the knife.

"Well since you've decided to join this conversation, I'm assuming you'd prefer to tell Naruto about your brother?" It was Sasuke's turn to flinch at Kakashi's casual suggestion. The two looked at each other while I tried to stamp down the ache in my stomach to focus back on Sasuke. I continued to wait in the tense silence, trying to see which one was winning their staring contest. Why did it always come down to this? And why did Kakashi always win? I could tell the match was over quick when Sasuke's body tensed even more than before and his scowl was parted with words.

"My brother attempted suicide." And as an afterthought, he spat out "And attempted to kill me."

"W-What?" My throat became dry as I stared at the stoic boy, who didn't bother to turn his head to look at me. He acted as if he was talking to the air.

"My brother tried to overdose me through a drink I had left unattended when I was thirteen. I noticed the empty pill bottle on the counter before I could take a drink and tossed the drink down the drain. I found him in his room, with slits along his wrists. Soon after he was admitted to the Suna mental institution, where he has stayed for five years. Where he will continue to stay," Sasuke explained slowly, his gaze unfocused and down cast. I couldn't speak as a mixture of anger and pain welled inside of Sasuke's features. By the way he didn't bother to hide it at first, it was obvious Sasuke had no clue how much he was showing to me. But then in a quick flash, he started to collect his emotions again. "Apparently, Itachi didn't expect my intelligence to match his own."

Kakashi stood silently, only moving back when Sasuke exited the room. I barely caught sight of the impassive face Sasuke had trained himself to use during situations like this. Where he felt unsure of himself. When he didn't want to deal with the people or situation in front of him. But after everything he had been through, I could see why. Finding out your parents had been attack was hard; I knew that from personal experience. But realizing your own brother had willingly tried to take your life was something that would scar any person. I stared at the entranceway as if expecting Sasuke to return, but he didn't. It simply remained empty.

"Sasuke is unaware of how intelligent his brother truly is. After all, it takes a genius to play with insanity." Now that had caught me off guard. I turned to stare in shock at the therapist that seemed too comfortable with Sasuke's cold reaction.

"Play?" If he heard my question he didn't bother to answer. Instead he turned his attention to me and smiled.

"Do you feel any better now?" At the random question I blinked and suddenly remembered why Kakashi had come here to begin with. How did he manage to keep my mind so occupied? Therapists were scary when they wanted to be.

"I…well, I…to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel yet." More like I hadn't had time to actually _think _about how I felt. Everything continued to pile on my plate, and I hadn't even gotten to look at the menu yet.

"It's expected to feel overwhelmed. I've suggested some grievance time from school. Tsunade has already informed your teachers, so don't worry about your school work for now. We'll see how you're feeling on Wednesday during our session and we'll work up from there." It felt strange to not hear any underlining meaning under his words. Normally when Kakashi spoke, it was to find something out or get information out of me. But to hear an almost concerned tone to his voice made me feel strange. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

"Yeah," I replied weakly, standing when he made his way toward the door. Even if it wasn't my house, I still walked with Kakashi to the door. And with his normal creepy smile and a short wave, the pervert was gone. Hesitantly I leaned against the door, staring at the downpour of rain that had begun hours ago. Really this was starting to be the longest day of my life. The house was silent when I shut the door, unsure of what to do next. I knew that Sasuke was locked in his room again. But judging from the way he left, he would probably lob my head off if I went and annoyed him. But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't go home, not yet. And Kakashi had been right about why I didn't go to Jiraiya's house. This was the only place left for me to go.

I jumped when my stomach growled, and I was suddenly reminded that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Well, guess I could make a late lunch or something. My stomach seemed to like the idea, and I found myself immersed in spices and fuzzy memories of my mother telling me why eating vegetables with my dinner was always good. I stared at the sizzling stir fry, trying to keep my shirt from getting spit on by the flavored grease. Sasuke wasn't the only one who remembered what his mother cooking looked like. Mom was pretty and kind, but always seemed to burn herself and let out a string of colorful words while dad tried to sooth her. Sometimes he'd bandage her fingers, and I remembered being grossed out by the kisses he would always place against the band-aids. They kissed a lot at home, but kept their touching small when in the public eye. Still, the gentle resting of my mom's head on dad's chest or the subtle hand on my mother's back showed everyone how much they loved each other. I was too young to realize how much I should have cherished those quiet moments. By the time I realized it, they were already missing.

And now they were really gone. Forever. I almost snapped the wooden spoon in my hand at the wave of pain that hit me. It burned my eyes and twisted my stomach in a way that made me step closer to the sink. The last thing I wanted to do was throw up on the floor. My hands gripped the edge of the cabinet as I hung my head over the stainless steel sink, staring at my blurry reflection on the nozzle. My floppy hair shot out in different direction, some still hanging low from the rain. When it fell like that, I eerily resembled my father. Blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin almost made me a replica of what he looked like. But Tsunade always told me how much my personality resembled my mother. Stubborn, loud, and by the way I cursed when the grease finally burnt my palm, her colorful language. I ran the burnt skin under the water, blaming the tears sliding down my cheeks on the pain. I felt my shoulders heave forwards when an undignified sob passed my lips. The fact I was breaking down in Sasuke's made me feel weak, but I couldn't stop the tears.

I barely opened my eyes when I felt a soft touch against the back of my shoulder. I looked up weakly, wincing when I saw Sasuke shutting off the stir fry for me. When he looked back to me, I quickly looked back down at the drops of tears that had been collected on the bottom of the sink. It was hard enough to cry in front of someone, but Sasuke being here made it only worse. I felt stupid when his palm quietly rubbed against my back. The need to lash out at him to make him go away almost made me speak, but he didn't give me time. Instead, I felt myself pulled away from the sink and into his body. His body was still tense, but I didn't care. An arm snaked around my waist, and if I wasn't so caught up with trying to pull myself together I would have blushed. I bowed my head lower to hide my face, pressing it against his chest while I grasped onto his shoulders. It was supposed to be a push, but somehow my pride got trumped by my heart. And really, his warmth was too hard to pull away from.

"Ba-Bastard," I muttered out. Because really, what else was there to say? By the way his arm silently tightened against my waist, he didn't have anything else in mind. So we sat there, me practically soaking his shirt and Sasuke remaining tensely comforting. Somewhere in the middle of the embrace I wondered how many people Sasuke freely touched like this. How many people Sasuke actually pulled into _his _embrace, without threat or punishment. By the way his body struggled to relax against mine, I was guessing it wasn't often. Or maybe at all. So I pulled him closer, not caring that for once, I was willingly playing submissive. I just needed to have him closer to me. I needed to know there was someone out there that was like me. I had been alone for too long, and now I felt completely lost. I just wanted someone to tell me everything was going to be okay. And maybe Sasuke wasn't talking, but he was trying to comfort me. Wasn't that something?

The bastard helped himself to half of my stir fry once I finally put my sanity back together. He never released his hold on my waist, and I settled for leaning against his side. Of course I had to protest under my breath a few times to try and pretend I didn't enjoy the warmth of him being there. We didn't get plates or bowls, just a pair of forks to eat from the pan with. The island supported our weight while we ate, Sasuke eating more of the string beans while I mowed down on onions and steak.

"It's spicy," He spoke first, wrinkling his nose at the piece of steak I stabbed his fork with.

"It's stir fry, it's supposed to be spicy." I smiled for the first time in a while before I lifted my fork up to his mouth. "Open up for the plane baby Uchiha."

"Hn." He didn't remove my hand, but simply enveloped it with his own before feeding himself. I laughed when his nose wrinkled even more than before, showing how strong the spices were for him. I did tend to make things stronger than most, but flavor was the key to happiness in cooking. Well, unless you're Sasuke. "Really spicy."

"Nobody told you that you have to eat it! If you're going to bitch about it, then stop shoving it in yo—" I almost chocked when Sasuke shoved some of the stir fry from his fork into my open mouth, but I managed to get it down. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Your mouth opens too much." I growled up at him, but he ignored it while he snacked on my lunch. "I'm staying home tomorrow."

"It's not like I need you bastard!" He scoffed and stabbed a piece of stir fry, choosing to ignore my complaint. I huffed but didn't argue again, slightly relaxing against him. We didn't talk about it for the rest of the day. Instead, I made the decision we were going to paint the hallway next. We grabbed the paint supplies again, and it was much easier to make Sasuke start the Torrey Pine painting. The hallway was small, and we had to stop every half hour to try and let some of the air clear of paint fumes. By the time we finished, the clock struck eight. We weren't able to see the darkness outside because of the rainclouds that still poured down. I didn't know when it was supposed to stop, but I was hoping soon. The last thing I needed was depressing weather.

For the first time all day, time seemed to move quickly. We both went through our shower and switched into sleepwear. Without words we made it to Sasuke's bed, and it was only after I had slid under the covers that I realized I didn't bother to complain about the sleeping situation. Without speaking I knew which side of the bed to crawl into, and already I was turning to face the wall. How I had gotten so comfortable in his bed? Wasn't I supposed to fight him? Then again, nothing seemed to be going right today. Who would have thought Sasuke could console anyone? I would have been the first to deny it. But after today, I had been proven wrong. At least with me. But he almost had to comfort me with the way I was falling apart in from of him. At the end of all of this, would he still be the cold bastard everyone knew?

"Stop moving and sleep." His quiet command should have helped me break away from my thoughts. Instead, I only scoffed into the pillow.

"I'll sleep when I want to."

"You won't sleep if you keep abusing your brain with all of your thinking."

"It's not like I'm trying to think about it bastard." I paused for a second before growling. "And stop calling me stupid!"

"Hn." For some reason, I continued to defend myself.

"My brain just won't stop. I keep trying to wrap my brain around everything but it…it's hard." I knew Sasuke could hear me, because he always complained about how people in China listened to my daily shouting. Still he didn't answer, letting what should have been a comforting silence blanket us. But without Sasuke's voice to distract me, I started to think again. This time my thoughts shifted to Sasuke. Did he not answer because he didn't know what to say, or was it because he was now lost to his own painful memories? If my head was spinning now, what would it feel like to have it happen twice? From the pain Sasuke tried to hide earlier, I knew it had been just as hard to lose Itachi as his parents. So how was he able to stare at their pictures without falling apart? Was it just a part of the perfect Uchiha package?

"How did you deal with it?" My mouth seemed to decide on its own the best route to finding out was to ask him.

"With what?"

"You know what," I muttered, not wanting to say it. There was a lingering pause and quiet shuffling behind me before he answered.

"I just did. I stopped thinking about it and focused on my schoolwork. Eventually your brain becomes distracted and the nightmares go away."

"Nightmares?"

"They're perfectly normal after a traumatic experience." His response was automatic, making me think he never intended for that specific piece of information to slip.

"Did you have a lot of them?"

"I had enough."

"What were they about?" I must have been spending too much time to the bastard, because I could practically see his scowl behind closed eyes.

"None of your concern."

"Stop being stupid and just tell me."

"Being called stupid by you is hypocritical."

"Bastard!" I jerked my head back to glare at him, but it took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness. "Just tell me."

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because you won't want to hear it." It was the tone Sasuke used for the quiet response that sent a cold shiver down my back. By now my eyes could make out the outline of Sasuke's face, which seemed to be facing mine. But before I could make out his dark gaze, Sasuke turned his head toward the ceiling. "Now sleep."

I slowly pushed myself onto my back, my lacking eyesight trying to make out the ceiling through the darkness. Just what could scare Sasuke enough to refuse to talk about it? And just how long did he have those nightmares? If it was enough to bother Sasuke, then maybe I really didn't want to know. It wasn't that I thought Sasuke was stronger than me! I just knew I was going to have my own nightmares. I didn't need to get more ideas from him. I sighed and tried to close my eyes, but my body didn't seem to want to listen. Instead I continued to stare up at the ceiling, feeling my muscles struggling to relax. It didn't make sense. My entire body felt heavy with the need to sleep, but my mind seemed to hesitate with the idea. As if somehow the fear of what I was going to dream of was making me stay awake.

"You scared?" Apparently, Sasuke noticed my tensing muscles too. Well how couldn't he? We were practically touching from how close we were. Why that didn't bother me should have scared me more than it did. Actually, it didn't affect me at all. I blamed it on the weirdness of the day.

"No…no! Why would I be? It's not a big deal." I lied straight through my teeth while continuing to keep my open gaze on the ceiling. I was hoping that somehow Sasuke's insight would fry and he wouldn't realize how fake my short bark of laughter sounded.

"Sure." Damnit, nobody was on my side today. I didn't like the way I could feel Sasuke watching me, as if waiting for me to admit that he was right. If he thought I was just going to somehow magically give him the answer that he wanted, then he seriously didn't know Uzuma—

"Maybe a bit." …My mouth needed some serious duck tape. Realizing I was already knees deep in my confession, I quickly tried to cover it up. "I mean, it's not like I deal with this shit every day!"

"I knew you would be." I hated the tone he was using. My fists balled at my sides while I glared over him, instantly realizing my mistake. By the missing glare in his eyes, I realized the tone he used wasn't haughtiness. It was just Sasuke taking another crack at this 'comforting' thing. I felt as uncomfortable as he looked.

"I-It's not weird!"

"I know."

"Heroes can get scared you know." He didn't answer verbally, but a slow nod of his head showed he understood what I was rambling about. Feeling uncomfortable with listening to the silence, I spoke again. "And…I mean…even you've been scared before."

"Hn." He didn't seem to like that idea, but he didn't deny it. Probably because a denial would lead into an argument, and we'd somehow manage to stumble back onto the Itachi incident. I could tell from earlier that he wasn't ready to tell me everything yet. The scar was still healing over, and I didn't want to the one ripping it open again. I just wanted to keep my promise and be there for him.

I used that as the reason for why I ended curled up against his side again. Only this time, the arm around my waist came after I had buried myself into his warmth. The darkness hid my blush, and most likely his as well. I didn't dare lift my head up to look at him, because I knew the embarrassment would probably eat both of us alive. Me and Sasuke were both strong physically. We knew how to kick the crap out of anyone that threatened us. Fighting was easy. Mentally, it seemed that we were pretty strong too. Going through the same situation and still being able to function like a teenager was hard, but we managed somehow. But emotionally…

It was hard to become emotionally strong. And really, it was just another thing that separated both of us. Sasuke hide everything away. If something hurt him, he'd pull on his stoic mask and scare the world away with his scowls and cold glares. He made people leave him alone because he didn't want to deal with it himself. If he let people into his life, he'd have to let them into his thoughts as well. I was the opposite in the sense that I was completely open with my feelings. I didn't mind crying. I didn't mind telling people when I was pissed or upset. Punching walls and swearing to vent were normal for me. I also didn't mind showing people when I was happy, and I craved attention. I needed people in my life to keep me from falling back into the dark years of my past. People kept me smiling.

But that didn't mean either of our tactics were strong. Sasuke couldn't rely on others, and I relied on them too much. We didn't have control of our emotions. I tightened my hold in Sasuke's shirt at the unnerving thought. When had Sasuke ever lost control of something? He was Mr. Perfect, almost the superman of Konoha. He was smart, attractive, rich, and popular. He had everything going for him. So to know that even Uchiha Sasuke could get scared, could feel uncontrollable emotions was almost impossible for me to wrap my brain around.

"Sasuke—"

"Don't talk. Sleep." He tightened his grip on my waist for a second to add emphasis. Normally I'd fight with him and raise my voice just to make a point. But after everything tonight, I wasn't sure I could deal with another confrontation. Thoughts of what Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sasuke had said now drifted alongside my own crazy thoughts. It was enough to keep my mouth shut when my eyes finally started to feel heavy. I hated that Sasuke seemed to have that power over me. Or I should have hated it, if not for the fact that already I could feel the darkness of sleep starting to call me. I wondered for the last awake moments of my day what Wednesday's therapy session would be like. Would Kakashi continue to explain about Sasuke's past, or would he switch to mine? Would he just ignore it all together? Kakashi was impossible to figure out, but I tried anyways. The mental debate didn't last long, because my eyelids became too heavy to keep open. I blinked languidly once, and finally shut my eyes to claim the sleep that my body needed to have.

The nightmares I had been scared to dream about never came. I wasn't really sure what I thought of that. It seemed that I had only been asleep for a few minutes before I awoke to another gloomy day of rain splashing against the window. Really, Mother Nature used my emotions to pick what the weather would be like. I rubbed my half open eyes with my fingers while I turned my head back to look at Sasuke. Like normal, he was still asleep. I debated what to do next. Did I want to stay snuggled in the soft blankets with my heat source that (even in his sleep) pulled my body closer to his? Or did I want to leave the warm comfortable bed in order to walk back into the cold reality that I called my life? As soon as my feet touched the rug, I would have to face everything I had been trying to run from.

Was there a contest?

I buried my face into Sasuke's chest and closed my eyes again, though I didn't fall asleep. Somehow I became interested in the gentle way my head would raise with Sasuke's breathing. My skin warmed with the slight twitches of Sasuke's fingers against the exposed skin on my hip. Somewhere in my stomach, a gentle feeling of content shifted through all of the pain and settled me. I'd stay until Sasuke woke up in order to deal with everything that was waiting at the door for me.

Because I knew that somehow, he needed me to wait for him too.

**And that's the end of this chapter! Yup, this one was a little shorter than the other ones, but not by much. I just hope that you liked it anyways. Soooo what did Kakashi really mean before he left? What is the connection between Sasuke and Kakashi? Is there more to the past than we really think? And what's going to happen when Naruto and Sasuke go back to school together? Review and find out! And check out the review replies!Thanks! **


	11. The Consequences of Lettin Bed Bugs Bite

Hola guys! Well, I finally finished Italy, so I'll be able to focus on this story more! =) I'm still a little sad about it ending, but I'll be fine! Haha so once again, reviews are on my DA name, and I'm sorry for the people couldn't find it. Here I thought It'd be easy…-sighs-. OH! And I know some people mentioned the review replies thing on the comments page, buuuuuuuut I find that harder because it brings me to the first page, which is a hassle. But thanks for trying to help!

I also know that this chapter took a while to write, and I am sorry for that. But I don't want to write if I don't think it will come out good. I've seen too many stories just end horribly because the writer 'lost interest'. I don't want to do that to you guys, so I hope you understand. So sorry again, and let's get reading!

**Warning: ****Huh…not really sure what is going to be in this…so get prepared just in case!**

**Disclaimer: **** oturaN nwo ton od I ******** Read backwards –grins-**

**The Embarrassing Consequences of Letting Bed Bugs Bite**

"For the last time Ino, I'm fine." I sighed loudly into the phone, leaning against Sasuke's headboard. I listened for the water to shut off in the other room while Ino spoke.

"Sorry, Naruto. It's just I haven't seen you in a while and I get nervous. We practically see each other every day between work and school, so not having our 'S subject' talks is strange."

"Yeah, well a certain S is making sure I'm not dead. Then again, I may die of ramen deprivation if I don't get some into my system soon. All this guy's got is healthy food!" As if she could see, I exaggerated my pain by flopping down onto the bed. I hadn't eaten ramen in over five days, since the Friday I was first told I was staying with Sasuke by said bastard. And despite my constant whines, he wouldn't let me 'waste his cabinet space' with Ramen. As if! He was wasting it with tomatoes and cauliflower anyways. Sure they make good side dishes, but they had nothing on Ramen. I was still trying to figure out how to prove that to Sasuke.

"So how is it with Romeo anyways?" Ino's teasing tone made me growl to hide the fact that embarrassment could be heard in my voice.

"Don't call him that! He's the most unromantic bastard I've ever known." And of course, my mind had to flash back to the way he comforted me in the kitchen. My spine tingled in remembrance of how gentle his touch had been against my back. And glancing down to the wrinkled sheets that we had been sharing while I recovered from Monday's mental break down, I knew I was lying through my teeth. His bark was definitely worse than his bite. Not that I wanted to tell Ino that. I was blushing enough as it was. So quickly, I decided to change the subject. "Sorry about bailing on Saturday, but…well you know."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Naruto! Really, it was probably for the better anyways. Me and Shikamaru drove all the way to the mall just to find out it was shut down for the night because of some protest against destroying the environment. Why they were doing it after the mall was already built, I don't really get. But you know how some people are."

"So you guys didn't even go out?" I asked, rolling onto my side to look out at the darkening sky. If Sasuke didn't hurry up, we were going to be late for our therapy crap.

"Well…" The strange excitement in her tone caught my attention again. "Shikamaru was being lazy _again_, and so we decided to just go back to my house and watch a movie. I know what you're thinking, 'what a boring date' right? Well, we stopped to rent a movie, and you wouldn't _believe _who was there!"

"From the way you're practically blowing my ear off with your squeals, I'm going to guess someone famous." If she cared about the half insult she didn't comment on it.

"No. Temari! Apparently she works at the video store, and she was the one who rang us out. Oh oh oh! But it gets even better than that." I mentally laughed at how easily Ino got excited whenever it came to Shikamaru. How the lazy guy hadn't noticed her feelings sooner I'd never understand. They were practically written on every scowl and comment she sent him. "So Temari started to talk to Shikamaru—which really pinched a nerve with me—and he said 'our movie _date _got messed up'."

"Whoa, Shika actually put the effort into a sentence?"

"Naruto!" This time I couldn't keep the laughing to myself, especially with how distressed she sounded.

"I'm sorry Ino. So he admitted it was a date, eh? Did you two make out?" What was I supposed to ask? 'Oh, did he wrap his arm around you during the scary parts?'. I'm not Sakura you know!

"No, we're not like you and Sasuke." I should have seen that coming. From everything that had gone on in the past few days, I had forgotten about me and Sasuke's…encounter in Ino's living room. "But he did say something about a rain check on our movie date. I think he really likes me!"

"Why is it when I say that, you never believe me, and yet Shika says something hinting at a relationship and you finally get it? And you call me dumb?"

"Because you are dumb." I looked up from the phone call, which wasn't one of my better ideas. I mean really, wasn't seeing Sasuke half naked once enough for me? "What are you doing?"

"Uh…" By the way my hormones jumped, apparently not. Using pain to ignore my arousal, I bit my lip hard enough to yelp.

"Are you okay?" Ino's voice was enough to pull my gaze to the ceiling.

"Yeah! Sorry, the bastard just walked in and shocked me with his naked ass."

"I have a towel." Alright, so his ass was the only part of him that wasn't nude. I glanced back at him when he grabbed his clothes from his dresser just to make sure that was correct. Yup, could still see the back muscles moving while he looked for a shirt.

"Don't you mean the _teme?_" I didn't want to answer either of them, but I didn't really have a choice.

"No, I didn't mean that."

"Didn't mean what?"

"Not you Sasuke." Ino giggled at the confusion she was provoking.

"You two are too cute."

"Stop calling us cute!" I shouted, not liking how fast my cheeks were heating up. Just once, why couldn't Sasuke be the one blushing, and I could be the one with the raised eyebrow? And why did he have to look so cocky all the time? "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything." But his smirk did. I growled before turning my back to him, staring at the wall in front of me.

"I've got to get going, Ino. Therapy starts in like fifteen minutes. Maybe after therapy I'll be able to sneak out to the store and grab some ramen goodness. Tell Shika and the others that I said hi and stuff." I listened to her laugh and exchange a goodbye before I hung up. Behind me, I could already hear him scoff.

"You're not bringing ramen here." Of course he would say that. I rolled my eyes, tilting my head back to comment about his shut down. And I would have, if not for the fact that Sasuke hadn't dragged on his pants yet. I knew my eyes were wide and fixated on the pale skin that disappeared underneath the silky blue boxers Sasuke wore. My mind instantly hazed at the sight, though my body was quick to shiver. He didn't notice, too focused on dressing himself for therapy to realize I was mentally wondering if the pale skin got lighter underneath his covered hips. So when I saw the jeans move in my view, my mind came slamming back into reality. If he saw me jerk my head to look back at the wall, I couldn't tell. I was too busy trying to stop my cheeks from burning off.

"Uh…" I had to scramble to remember why I had looked over at him to begin with. Oh, yeah. Ramen. Trying to keep my mind on the heavenly food and not the image that begged to burn itself into my mind, I forced myself to speak. "I don't need to listen to you! I'll go buy my own."

"I won't drive you." From how clearly he spoke, I assumed he didn't notice the strange tone of my voice. But hey, talking while your dick is starting to make itself known isn't exactly easy. Especially when a certain object of unexplainable interest now stood behind me.

"I have a car," I snapped back, trying not to shiver. What the hell was my problem? I glared at the wall while mentally berating myself. This was getting out of control. When did Sasuke get this…this…

Rousingly Frustrating?

"Where do you plan to cook it?" He had to know his breath circulated around my ear. The bed dipped behind me, probably from his knee. The top of his thigh brushing against my spine showed just how close he was.

"You can't stay with me all the time," I mumbled, finally mustering up enough composure to glare back at him. I had to pull my head back a bit when realizing I almost smacked our noses from the quick jerk. My eyes nearly cross from trying to keep my stare of his dark gaze.

"Who said I wanted to?" Within a second, the feeling of arousal took a backseat to the burning at the edges of my stomach. For a minute, my mind dipped back into a darker part of myself. Just because Sasuke let me into his house didn't mean he wanted me there. Hell, for all I knew Tsunade threatened to expel him if he didn't let me stay in his house. And if not her, then Kakashi probably had a say in it.

"Then leave or something," I muttered, pushing off of the bed to leave the room. Suddenly, I felt too close to him. But with a quick grab of my wrist, I was stuck standing next to the bed. My fingers curled into my palm while I glared back at him, trying to shake the hold off. And when he wouldn't budge, I lashed out with words. "Thought you didn't want to be near me?"

"I don't." Why did that hurt so much? I tugged again to try and get away from the confusing pain.

"Then let go!"

"Don't waste your breath." He pulled me back hard enough to plop my ass back onto the bed.

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Asshole."

"Dead last." I knew where this was headed fast. It didn't make sense; because he had said twice he wanted nothing to do with me. And yet still, I could tell what was happening. Hell, my body started to turn toward him while I spewed out my next insult.

"Bastard."

"Hn…moron." And he knew it too, because his hands now slid to rest near my hips. He hovered over me like I was prey, trapped between his arms and waiting for him to make the kill. There was a moment of silence where fake glares were shed. Anger washed away in favor of intense thought. Like how we hadn't spoken once about what happened on Saturday. How we had been so wrapped up in everything else that our feelings never had a chance to catch up. But now there were no twists waiting to knock us off balance. Well, unless we included each other.

"You…" What was I waiting for, an invitation? Wasn't he already doing that with the leaning of his head closer to mine? I could pass that off as a random twitch, but I wasn't stupid. At least not right now. Something on my face must have given away my weird hesitation, because Sasuke narrowed his gaze.

"Great insult." If I wasn't instantly riled by his sarcasm, I might have noticed the annoyed tone he used. A tone that Sasuke never used on purpose.

"Teme!"

"Good." I played right into his plan. Or maybe he played into mine, because I was grabbing his hair before he even kissed me. We laid out on his bed like another blanket, taking the first few seconds to simply understand the returning feelings in our stomachs. I didn't open my mouth because he didn't press it, but that didn't stop the warmth that filled my body. Easily he managed to rest his body against mine without so much as an uncomfortable poke. I wouldn't say we were 'made for each other', because if that was the case Sasuke would be a girl and our roles would be completely different. But there were two sources of hardened warmth in-between my legs, and the fact that it made me shiver instead of push away probably meant a girl Sasuke wouldn't do the trick.

A sharp pain against my lower lip quickly jolted me from my daydreaming. The parting of my mouth to yell only deepened the kiss much to the bastard's pleasure. I half heartedly struggled against the intrusion, but he ignored it. And after a few carefully placed swipes of his tongue, I forgot exactly why I wanted to get away from him so bad. One of my hands slung around his neck, the other still locked in the dark hair above me. Somehow Sasuke had slid his forearms to rest on either side of me, supporting him while he continued to remap my mouth. My eyes had no problem sliding closed, which only enhanced the pleasure of his fingertips barely scraping my arm. Finally I dragged my mouth away from his to catch my breath.

"Damn," I muttered, allowing his forehead to push my head to the side in order to nip my neck. I tugged at his hair in retaliation while trying to keep my throat from making any noise. I hated sounding weak, especially around Sasuke. But it was hard to swallow the groan at the delicious pressure of his lips against my erratic pulse. I shut my eyes as if in pain, my head arching back while my body shook. Apparently, Sasuke was just born with sexuality. His lips burned along the vein of my neck down toward my collarbone. I shook my head once when he reached his destination, trying to pull him away before he could wreak anymore damage onto my warm skin. But he wouldn't be swayed, and the vampire bit gently against the sensitive skin. It didn't hurt, but I yelped from the strong sensation. Besides the bastard, nobody had ever been this close to me. It was sending my heart into a beating frenzy.

Before I could stop him (or my body from complying), shirts were now laying somewhere above us. Fingers that once laid idle now travelled along the divots of his muscles, fascinated in how different his skin felt from mine. Did this kid bathe in lotion or something? Must have been cinnamon lotion, as I remembered the several times I had caught the smell surrounding his body. Hell, even Sakura's skin didn't feel this smooth. Hesitantly I glanced up at him, my brows furrowing at his quiet smirk. I reached around his neck, jerking him back down for another kiss to wipe away that confident look he had. We kissed in a way only allowed with Sasuke; long and frustrating. Even when I broke my way into his mouth, he found ways to make my body shake. Encouraging my tongue to slide against his, I wasn't expecting a gentle suck around said organ to send a strike of need into my cock. I jolted at the movement, and somehow my eyes flipped open to connect with his. No matter how aroused I was getting, it was always the silent looks he gave me that really made my stomach flip. Uchiha Sasuke could control almost every aspect of his life, including his facial expressions. But his eyes always managed to flicker with the truth behind his silent mask. In moments like these, where I could see his lust mirroring mine, I stopped thinking with my mind. Because I knew that no matter how hard he tried, his eyes showed just what really made him tick.

"Hey…" He arched an eyebrow silently, and I wondered if I could ever pull that move off. I had tried once, when I was sure anything the bastard could do I could do too. It took me an hour to realize my eyebrows hated being apart. But none of that mattered right now. Sasuke rested on my chest, staring at me and waiting. And suddenly, my lips moved without internal convincing. "Why do you always push me away?"

"You're exaggerating, dobe." And he leaned down to kiss me again. Quickly I shoved my hands onto his cheeks, keeping the lip lock from happening so fast. He wasn't getting out of this that easy.

"Like earlier, when I was going to leave. You couldn't just admit you wanted to be near me."

"Hn."

"And that photo album…it isn't yours, is it?" And just like I thought, his interest in making me shut up became twice as important as before. The fiery glare he sent me proved that.

"You shouldn't listen to everything Kakashi says."

"What the hell would he get by lying to me?" At that, Sasuke pushed away from me and sat up. From the brooding posture he was sporting, I could tell he was crawling back into that asshole façade. The one where he couldn't show how human his cold ass could be.

"Entertainment."

"That pervert's got other things to occupy his time. He wouldn't bother making up a story like that. And it's not like what he said was crazy. You were only twelve at the time; you couldn't have gotten those pictures."

"Hn." See? Jackass mode.

"Don't pull that one word shit with me. I mean…we've talked about this before. You don't have to act like everyone is out to get you, ya know. Because they're not. I'm…" For once, I was at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say? I'm here? That was pretty obvious from the fact we were sharing the house at the moment. I'm your friend? I wiped my lower lip with the back of my hand, quickly realizing that it may not be the best thing to say now. But it felt like no matter what I said, Sasuke was going to take it the wrong way, or twist it for his own benefit. And I didn't want that. So I crawled over to him, not bothering to stop at his glare when I straddled his thighs. From the angle we were in he had to look up, and I grabbed his shoulders to keep from losing my balance. Or from having him knock me off.

"Get off."

"I'm sorry that life dealt you a shitty hand. It sucks, I know that. But stop moping around like a damn woman and do something about it!"

"You don't know anything."

"Yeah, maybe I don't know about the educational shit they teach us in school. Hell, that's your thing anyways. And I don't understand politics, the economy, or anything like that. But I know people, because I spent all of my life watching them." I felt my grip tighten on his shoulders, my emotions rising as I continued to speak. "Before I came here, all I did was watch people. Nobody wanted to be my friend, because I was 'different' to them. I didn't have a mom or dad, so something had to be wrong with me. The adults didn't want them to have anything to do with me either, because they thought I'd be a bad influence. I never understood why, no matter how hard I tried to make sense of it all. I was the same kid they used to let play with their kids. I realized later that without the guidance of a parent, they were scared I'd turn their kids into druggies or some stupid shit like that.

"So I started to watch the things I used to have; family and friends. And I stared to pick up on the way that people talked to each other. I could tell easy things at first, like when they were angry or excited. But then, with the continuous watching, I could see the smaller things people tried to hide. Irritation, hidden feelings, even when someone was lying. The more I was left alone, the more I could see how people lied to each other about how they really felt. Wives that looked at other men behind their husband's backs happened all of the time. A best friend who wanted to be something more than that was pretty common too. Maybe that's why I thought Ino and Shikamaru were together at first. They say one thing, and act another way. Like you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You sit here, in this frozen house, waiting for someone to come be with you. But as soon as you step out those damn doors, your mask goes up and you shut out any chances of people coming into your life. I only got in by a fluke. And you're not sure if you like that or not, because you keep pushing me away and then pulling me back. You just think that because I'm here right now, somehow I'll screw you over and leave you alone. You don't think I see that?"

"I think you should get off of me. Now." His hands grabbed my hips to yank me off of him, but I locked my knees tightly against his waist and sat down on him.

"Stop pushing me away damnit!" I shouted, momentarily making him loosen his grip on me. We glared at each other, because he didn't know how else to deal with the emotional side of himself. "I know everything that you've been trying to hide from the world now. Which is stupid, because anyone who could read a newspaper back then probably figured it out. But I'm guessing you're banking on the fact that we were all too young or we didn't live in the same town as you. What twelve-years-old would read a paper, right? And most of those clippings weren't from Konoha, but Suna. You just planned for all of this to go away. And now that I know, you don't want to deal with me."

"You're wrong."

"Liar." His eyes narrowed while I grinned. "You looked to the left when you said that. It shows that you're lying. I learned that from CSI, and tested it out with a bunch of people. It's a pretty nifty trick too."

"You're basing your findings on a trick you saw on TV?"

"Yup." He scowled at how confident I sounded. I let go of my grip on his shoulders, but it took a few seconds of mental convincing to slide my arms onto his shoulder and outstretched behind his neck. I felt his shoulders tense, but he didn't try to push me away again. Instead, he slowly arched an eyebrow in silent questioning. "I won't sit here and let you push me away. I've told you way too many times I wasn't going to let you be alone anymore. So why don't you just stop fighting me and just…let me do what I do best."

"Talk?"

"…the _second_ best thing I do."

"And that is?"

"Understand you."

"Hn." He turned his head from me, and I followed his gaze to stare at the bureau near his door. Already I knew which drawer he was focusing on. Inside of it held his photo album, his family's memories, and everything that he had been burying for the past five years. And here I was, telling him to let me into his world. "You truly are an idiot."

"I thought we just went over this! I'm not stu—" I almost yelped when he pulled me closer, my face hanging a few inches from his. I felt my inner thighs slowly slide against either side of his waist while my ass moved back to rest onto his lap. For the second time that day, I was reminded of Ino's living room. Except this time, Sasuke's chest was bare when it pressed into mine. Now, we sat on equal ground, our faces in line and closer than before. In fact, I could feel his breath gently brushing against my lips. I swallowed weakly to keep my throat from drying out. "Not…stupid…"

"That's extremely debatable." His voice was quiet, and I could feel the vibration of his lips against mine. Lulled by the insult I should have argued about, my eyes started to dip.

"Does that mean you'll give me a shot?" I mumbled softly, bending my arms slowly to cross behind his neck. I couldn't help but grin at the roll of the eyes he sent me.

"You'll try to barge in anyways."

"Probably." And it was the truth. Even if Sasuke wanted to, I wasn't going to let him crawl back into his solitude again. If he really hated it, he didn't show it. Instead, he tightened his arms around my waist.

"Do you even know the definition of 'no'?"

"Stop talking and answer me bastard." He didn't give me time to close my mouth before he kissed me, starting right where he left off before. And it didn't take an insult to convince him this time. We easily melded out mouths tighter, my hips being encouraged by his hands. I sucked in a sharp breath, shivering while my fingers grasped at the back of his shoulders. Without hesitation my arousal snapped back into play, heating me from the inside out. Hands suddenly slipped under me, sliding down the loose jeans around my hips and easily chilling my heated flesh. It wasn't until the cold air circled my ass that I realized how far Sasuke managed to get my jeans. I tried to jerk my head back to yell at him for leaving me butt naked (literally of course), but he silenced me with one quick grind through our jeans. My mouth did open, but nothing but a weak groan released itself. Damnit! Where had he leaned to tease like that?

The gentle brushes of his lips against my skin left it sensitive and anticipating. I should have stopped him, because the feelings that were swishing inside of my stomach were extremely dangerous. But really, my mind was already too fogged over to care. And when he bent down to surround my nipple in his warm mouth, any tiny thoughts of trying to stop him flew right out the window. The skin was extremely responsive, and each swipe of his active tongue sent shocks of pleasure into my stomach. In no time, he had me trembling. The thought pissed me off almost enough to stop the ministrations, but I settled for arching into his mouth instead. He seemed to understand what I wanted, and turned me on even more by sucking against the rough skin before slipping his hand down the center of my abs.

I gritted my teeth together to keep from making any more undignified noises when he started to tug at the jeans that were barely hanging onto my body from his earlier exploring. I distracted myself from the first nerves I had gotten all night by attacking his neck, enjoying the pale skin that he left open while he worked. The closer he got to unveiling my entire body to him, the more I played with his neck. He stopped between tugs, seeming to enjoy whenever I'd run the tips of my teeth against his pulse. Figures he's more for force than gentle sex. I wondered what kind of shit he'd try to get me to do. Quickly I shuttered at the thought of chibi Sasuke with a whip and collar. If there was one thing Uzumaki Naruto wasn't, it was submissive. And I didn't care that that damn therapist said, I was—

Shit.

Of course, like every good thing in my life, it came to a crashing end. What made it even worse was the fact that I was the one who remembered about the therapy session. Judging by the way Sasuke continued to harden to nipple with a nip of his teeth; he didn't realize how late we were. Thirteen minutes now, to be exact. And with how annoyingly attractive the bastard got when his cheeks flushed almost made me forget going altogether. He was a really hard act to compete with. Then again, a lemon was a hard competition compared to Kakashi.

"Nya…damnit…wait." My skin made a soft noise when he pulled his lips from it, looking up at me in complete annoyance. Well, it would have been complete, if not for the arousal that practically pooled from his glare. Even during sex he scowled!

"What?" Sometimes, it was hard to keep the evil side of me at bay. And seeing the normally stoic Sasuke sitting underneath me, his cheeks flushed in a way that would make any fangirl scream, made me wish I had a camera. I could already hear the bids from the Sasuke fan club over which one got to keep the picture. Then I could buy the entire ramen section at the grocery store! The thought was pretty tempting, but not enough to ignore the clock that hovered on the wall.

"Therapy." It took him much less time to realize what I meant than I thought possible, which didn't leave me prepared for the sudden switch in our position. I laid sprawled out on the floor, watching Sasuke shrug his shirt back on while he pulled out his cell phone. It was only when he started to talk that the pain made itself known in my tailbone. Really, this floor had way too many meetings with my ass over the past weeks.

"Kakashi." The addressing of our therapist snapped me from the need to hit the bastard. When the hell did Sasuke get Kakashi's phone number? And why would he bother to keep it on hand like that? From the speed he used, he either had it on speed dial or memorized. "Yes, we're both fine…no, I didn't harm him."

"Bullshit! My ass is going to have a bruise for days!" Have you ever said something, and only realized afterwards how easily it could be twisted into something much different than what you meant? By the twitch in Sasuke's eye at my comment, I quickly discovered said situation. From the loudness of my voice, I knew that Kakashi probably heard it over the phone. And from the clenching of Sasuke's free hand next to his side, I also knew that Kakashi had said something perverted. "No, wait! Not like that!"

"We'll be there soon." And with a snap of his phone, Sasuke didn't bother to say goodbye. It was only after he had slid the phone back into his pocket that he turned his attention back to me. "Redress. We're already going to listen to enough of his perverted comments during the session. Being any later gives him time to think of things to say."

"Like he doesn't have a list of perverted lines anyways." From the lack of response from the bastard, I guessed he probably agreed with me. I redressed, ruining any of the work that Sasuke managed to get through. We argued about whose car we used, which ended in him ignoring my shouts while he started his car. I glared at the black car, but remembering the previous owner made me start to think. Kakashi had said the Itachi was the reason that Orochimaru didn't gain custody of Sasuke. But none of what he said after that made sense. How was going crazy a way to help his brother? Normally, people just go crazy because they're…well….crazy. And even if he somehow thought it benefited Sasuke, wouldn't Orochimaru just use it as another reason to take custody? Something was still missing in this whole mess, and I had feeling that Sasuke wasn't going to explain it any time soon. I'd have to find another way.

Maybe it was because I didn't bother to start a conversation, but the entire car ride was silent. I spent most of the time trying to rub away the bruising against my neck and glancing at the marks I had left on Sasuke's. Jesus, was I a piranha? I could almost see the indents from our make-out session. I didn't even want to know what my neck now looked like. So when we stopped in front of Kakashi's office, I wasn't sure I wanted to get out of the car.

"Let's go." But Sasuke didn't seem to have the same sense of self-consciousness that I now had. We moved toward the office while I struggled to pull up my shirt to cover my neck. Figures that Sasuke grabs me the only shirt that doesn't have a collar. No wonder he was so fine with walking into Kakashi's office.

"Why hello. I'm glad you two could join me, even if it was a bit late."

"You're always late! Leave it to you to come on time the one day we're not here," I muttered, crossing my arms while I sat back in the chair. He only smiled in the same perverse way he always did when thinking of another way to torture us.

"So what made you arrive so late?"

"Car trouble. We had to use mine." It seemed that Sasuke had already thought of an excuse before we had gotten to the office. So quickly I nodded my head.

"Huh. Well, you might want to get that checked out, there might be a mouse in your car." A mouse? What the hell was he going on about? He leaned back on the desk he was sitting on (did he even _have _a chair behind his desk?) and continued to smile while he spoke. "Judging by the marks on your neck, he seems to have gotten to you already. Mice tend to bite."

"Pervert!" My hand shot out to cover my neck, glaring up at the older man. He barely let us sit down before he started to make fun of me. Of course he would probably back it up with some psychological practice if I called him out on it. So instead, I glared up at him. "Let's just get going with whatever we have to do today."

"Sure, Naruto. Let's start with you. How have you been since last talked?" For once, Kakashi acted as a normal therapist in his questioning .

"I'm better than before, I guess. Not crying constantly or nothing." I didn't really want to talk about what happened on Monday. But then again, it was Kakashi's job to poke into things we didn't want brought up, right?

"That's very good. Have you let principal Tsunade know if you'll be attending the memorial service for your parents? It's completely optional, you know."

"Of course I'm going!" What was he, crazy? They were my parents! And yeah, maybe I didn't know them for half of my life but they still were my mom and dad. It still burned a part of me internally to think that they were really gone. I winced at the fact that still didn't seem to sink in quite right. I could tell that Kakashi read my face like a book, and I tried to ignore it by glancing around the room. I said I hadn't cried constantly. That didn't mean I didn't have my moments. But being constantly loud and happy only a few days after something like that was hard. Normally I felt my strength drain away in the shower. It was the only real place I was alone. I knew if I kept crying in front of people, especially Sasuke, it would become awkward and troublesome to them. It was why I had tried to keep most of my phone conversations short and focused on them. I didn't want to lose control anymore. "Yeah, I'm….I'm going."

"I see." And I know he wasn't lying. Still I didn't look back to him, somehow finding interest in the small bubble of air underneath the wall's paint. Kakashi took the silence the way I figured he would. "Let's talk about what you've done in the past two days. Have you gone back to school yet?"

"No, but I plan to go tomorrow."

"And Sasuke has stayed with you, I presume?"

"It's an excuse to get out of school, ain't it?" I asked, rolling my eyes. Sasuke glared over at me as if my reasoning didn't make sense.

"Unlike you, I don't find reasons to miss school."

"Then why _did _you stay?" Kakashi asked before I could. For the first time ever, I felt like me and Kakashi were on the same side as we stared at the bastard's scowl.

"Because he was going to be occupying my house, and I did not want to leave him unattended."

"It's not like I'm a kid ya know! I can take care of myself without you babysitting me. First Jiraiya, now you. Do I need to carry around my god damn birth certificate!?"

"Age and maturity don't always match." I was going to strangle him one day. One second he's got me practically naked on his bed, and the next he acts like I'm more of a child than a…well…make out buddy!

"Though I do find this arguing amusing, it's my responsibility to help you both understand each other better. Though you have made very strong progress-" Alright, the look to my neck was _not _needed. "I think you'll need to open up to each other more than you are. Self boundaries can become the hardest to break down."

"What 'boundaries'? I'm not the one hiding shit from him!"

"He's snuck deep enough into my personal life. I don't need him any farther."

"I'm not going to tell you what I think you need to fix this week besides it involves your self-made barriers. I want you two to figure it out on your own. I will give you both two tasks that I want you to complete by the next time that we meet for therapy. I'll given them to you in sealed envelopes so that the other person will not know your goals if you do not wish for them to. Some you do them alone, and some you have the option of doing together. Either way, they need to be done. Does that make sense?"

"That's it?" I asked, waiting for some catch or added information. Kakashi nodded his head and moved to the other side of his desk, grabbing the two envelops from the first drawer. With a grin he offered us each our envelops, which were sealed exactly as he said. I stared my name written in cursive in front of me before glancing to Sasuke. By the way he held the assignment away from him, I could tell he was just as cautious as I was.

"What, you don't trust me?" My eyes narrowed at the question.

"First you stick me in a house with him for three days, then you make us go on a kissing spree for a week!"

"Ah, but in both cases it worked out for you two." With a subtle wink from the therapist, I flushed.

"You pervert! You really do have nothing better to do than ruin my life, huh?!"

"I told you, " Sasuke said, rubbing his temple with two of his fingers. I wasn't sure if it was to calm himself down or to keep his hand from punching Kakashi. But the notable twitch in his eyebrow spoke volumes on the constraint he was using for the overly happy therapist.

"I'm just doing what was asked of me. Tsunade said that you two needed to learn how to deal with each other, and that's what I trying to do. It's not my fault if either of you becomes sexually attracted to the other." I nearly fell out of my seat at the off-handed comment he so openly threw out. But I quickly recovered and pushed up to stand in front of my seat.

"What the hell are you implying here?! This is Sasuke we're talking about, not Sakura or even a girl for that matter!"

"Oh, so I misunderstood those marks then. Did Sakura leave them?" I froze at the evil therapist's question. Oh, he was good.

"No, she didn't." Sasuke answered before I could even open my mouth. And Kakashi was apparently getting under his skin too. But the heated glare sent to Kakashi while Sasuke stood did nothing to detour him from his ultimate goal. In fact, it probably helped.

"Well then who did they come from? Obviously Naruto wouldn't just allow someone to leave very dark blemishes on his skin unless there was a sexual attraction. And yet if it isn't Sakura, may I be informed as to who it was? Perhaps someone I haven't been informed about yet?" He had both of us entangled in a net like fish. While I silently fumbled with my mouth to try and think of an answer, Sasuke remained ridged and glaring at our tricky captor. We were probably a sight to see, and I would have laughed if I wasn't too busy wondering how many embarrassing moments someone can walk into in one day. Once again, Kakashi picked up where neither one of us could. "Then again, you said that Sasuke and you have not gone back to school. You were together the past few days, right?"

For a moment, I'd like to pause to remind everyone about two things. One, pride is a very dangerous thing. It can be deadly, or just positively embarrassing. Most of the time, its pride that get us into the sticky situations of life. Hell, it's one of the deadly sins. There's got to be something wrong about it! And two…

Uchiha Sasuke has too much pride.

"I did it." I swear I felt myself starting to faint. That feeling only intensified when an arm shot out to catch me from falling back in the chair. This was just a really bad dream that I was going to wake up from. Eventually. "However, it's none of your business."

"Of course not." I'm pretty sure Kakashi was mentally patting himself on the back for winning in his perverse game of 'therapy hook-up'. I could almost feel the lecherous gin hidden behind his lips. "But I am extremely impressed with the rapid progress you two have made. Please continue with your work."

"Hn." By now, I felt like I was going to toss one of them out of the window. I wasn't quite sure which one yet.

"Can we leave now?" I asked, trying to find a way to escape from the whole situation.

"I want to make sure you two understand your tasks before you leave." Great, so I had to endure this for even longer. Sighing, I leaned back to grab onto the sealed envelope. It wasn't until I leaned against Sasuke that I realized I had bent to stay _in _his hold instead of breaking away. I didn't bother to look up at Kakashi, knowing the pleased smile he would probably have at seeing his two test rats playing nice. Tearing the top of the envelope open, I slid out the piece of paper and discarded the trash on the floor. If the therapist wasn't doing his job, he could at least clean up after me.

I angled my shoulder to turn away from Sasuke, keeping the letter private while I flipped open the paper. The note was small and precise. I stared at the words slowly, my eyes unconsciously widening when the instructions registered in my head.

_The police have officially released your house as a crime scene, and you are able to return. I want you to go into your house before the next time we meet. You can bring Sasuke if you wish._

_Go to the Suna mental institution and pay a visit to Uchiha Itachi. He'll answer any questions you have yet to figure out. You are not allowed to bring Sasuke. _

I stared at the tiny piece of paper for a few long minutes, not sure exactly what I was thinking. Deciding which one was worse was hard. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face my house again. But seeing the guy that completely altered Sasuke's life was something that I thought would never happen. So when Kakashi decided to throw both of them back at me, I felt angry. What was I supposed to do? And just what did Kakashi tell Sasuke to do? Judging from the severity of my 'requests', I had no idea what he has planned for Sasuke. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Have you both read your two tasks?" I slowly crumpled the paper in my hand, knowing I would have no problem remembering the information.

"You're lucky I don't feel like getting expelled, or else I'd hit you," I snapped out. Somehow he expected it, because Kakashi casually picked up the trash on the ground without one flinch or look of fear. He seemed even more content than before.

"I assure you both that I am not trying to cause problems for you. Both of you have one week to finish these two simple commands. Is that understood?"

"Hn." Sasuke sounded even less pleased than I felt. Slowly I looked over to Sasuke, losing some of my anger when I felt his hand ball against the side of my hip. I didn't mind the fact we were still close, because his half mast gaze at his own letter distracted me. While I had been angry with what Kakashi had ordered me to do, Sasuke looked…lost. Like the letter sucked the soul out of him. I shifted on my feet slowly, trying to ignore how uncomfortable the look made me. Really, why did I care? Sasuke was always making mountains out of molehills, right? I tried to convince myself that somehow, the look wasn't a bad sign. But he wasn't pulling his gaze away from the letter, and it was starting to make me nervous. Desperate to get out of the situation even more than before, I snatched the paper from Sasuke's hand and shoved it into his pocket. My jerky action did the trick, and one blink of his eyes made the look disappear into a glare. "What?"

"You going to keep daydreaming like a love-struck girl, or are you going to drive us home?" I tried to pass the tone I used as agitation instead of worry. Really, the last thing I needed to do was act concerned in front of Kakashi. So I exchanged a glare with him before yanking on his arm, pulling him toward the door the same way he had done so many times before. "We'll do your stupid tasks Kakashi, but you better have a good explanation next week."

"Don't worry, Naruto. They'll explain themselves for you." It was the last thing Kakashi said before I shut the door behind us. I continued to imitate Sasuke by dragging him down the sidewalk and back into the parking lot. But Sasuke didn't follow my act of switching roles and try to pull away. We made it to his car without fighting, both of us too wrapped up in our own directions. I finally dropped my grasp on his wrist, leaning against the hood of his car to look up at him. He had moved back into the silent brooding mask, hiding anything else that he was feeling. Not liking the weird silence, I busied myself with kicking at the small pebbles in front of me.

"I'm coming Friday." It was the first full sentence Sasuke had said since he took responsibility for my hickies. I looked up at him slowly, showing how confused I was at his random statement. His glare pierced mine, but there was no malice or anger. It was just confidence, showing he wouldn't be deterred. "To the memorial service."

"You don't have to. I'm a big kid, I don't need a babysitter." Why I was fighting him, I wasn't sure. Probably because it was the normal thing to do with us. It was something I knew would never change, no matter how many times we went to Kakashi's 'therapy'.

"That's still undecided," He replied, watching me scoff and look away from him. The hair on the back of my neck rose when I felt him move closer, his breath passing the previously marked skin. He didn't touch me, but by now he didn't need to. I still flushed from the proximity of our bodies. "But that's not why I'm going."

"Should I even bother to ask why?"

"I have my own reasons."

"You really are a bastard." I didn't know how to deal with Sasuke anymore. Like magnets, we were drawn together without even realizing it. My forehead rested against his shoulder, eyes closed and my mind unsure of what to do next. Why did he make it so hard to be normal? First, it was the fact that I wasn't perfect like Sasuke, and how much of an oddball I was compared to him. Then I fought back, making me stand out from the norm by how many fights I got into. Now, feeling a hesitant hand rest against the bottom of my spine, I knew there was nothing friendly about this. I doubted I'd ever see Sasuke touching Tenten or Neji like this. Girls from every grade in our school dreamed of this. So out of everyone that Sasuke could have had, why did he choose me? The only one who didn't want to be held like this? The not normal one? It didn't make sense.

"Hn." Maybe it was because Sasuke wasn't normal either. Everyone saw him as heaven. He was the guy that every girl wanted to be with, and every boy wanted to be like. He was raised so high on a pedestal, there was no way he could be considered normal. He couldn't even walk down a hallway without someone staring at him. The only person that probably ever saw him for his 'personality' before his looks was…me. The oddball. And somehow, I guess we fit. The things that were opposite complimented each other. Our similarities made us understand each other in a way that only the other ever would. And when we got past the insults and the fighting, something unexplainable was left. Something I had never felt with anyone but the bastard. Not even Sakura, the girl I had thought I was in love with.

"You better have two black suits," I mumbled into his shoulder, turning my head to peek up from my resting spot. He silently sighed and pulled his head back from my neck to look at me.

"And here I thought you had no idea how to dress properly."

"Just you wait; I'll show you how to look hot." He only arched an eyebrow before pushing away from me, moving casually toward the driver's side. I followed him with my eyes, staying on the roof of his car. He finally looked back at me, and we stayed in a silent gaze for a few long seconds.

"Do you plan to come home with me, or would you prefer to beco—"

"Home?" I stop his sentence dead in its tracks. He blinked once, but suddenly seemed to understand I was repeating something he didn't even realize he said. Sharply he turned from me, throwing the door of his car open.

"My house," He corrected himself, as if it would erase the mistake he had made. No wait, not a mistake. Sasuke had just proven to me that somehow, I was starting to make his house a home again. Just like I promised him. Which meant that I was starting to prove to him that he didn't have to be alone in this world. My grin captured my lips, completely ignoring Sasuke's weak glare. "Get in. And if you drop the whole subject, I'll drive you to the store to get that heart attack in a cup."

"Fine." Hey, why was going to argue now? Sure, I didn't like the snappy command, but I was too excited about Sasuke's unintentional admission and the promise to ramen to care. So I moved to the other side of his car, not wiping the smile off my face while he tried to ignore me. I knew that there was more pain and problems to come ahead, because it was life. I'd deal with that when they came my way. But right now I was just happy to know that both of us weren't as alone anymore. We had each other to lean on if something got too tough.

Maybe if I had been paying attention to our surroundings, I would have noticed the shocked stare that had watched our scene play in front of them.

**JESUS CHRIST! This chapter literally took me over a week to write. I started it and just couldn't get myself out of a roadblock the size of Manhattan. I'm really sorry if this sucked, but I did try my best. And there was some SasuNaruness! =) Alright, so what's going to happen at the memorial? What were Sasuke's two tasks? Why does Kakashi want Naruto to talk with Itachi? Who was watching Sasuke and Naruto's intimate moment? And with Sasuke's admittance of home, will there be another admission coming up? So many new questions! Review and wait for the next big chapter! **


	12. How Many Kisses Can One Boy Take!

Hello! So I shouuuuuuuuuuld be studying for my finals which are…tomorrow…instead, im writing this! So if I fail, I'm blaming all of you that blame me for all your missing homework/studying/calss/WORK. Not like I have the book to study with anyways…-sighs- damn communications. At least I got a 92 for my average in Psychology –grins-. But onward to the story!

AFTER I announce that the winner of my one-shot poll is up. Which you should all go check out =) now we can start!

**AND **after I say Happy Birthday to one of my reviewers! I tried to get this chapter out for her birthday, but I got it out between ours. Mines May 14th (Tomorrow XD), and hers is May 10th. So happy birthday to us, **xxxLazyBiNaturexxx **! =)

**Warning: **Should I have to do this? Really, I'm pretty much labeled as a SasuNaru lemon writer! –gets glared at by administrators- Fine fine, watch out for it….don't you guys have anything better to do than monitor my plot bunnies?!

**Disclaimer: **-ignores study guides- I don't own the orange fuzzball.

**How Many Kisses Can One Boy Take? **

It was one of those days. Everyone knows the ones I'm talking about. As soon as you get out of bed, you know something is different. While you change, eat, prepare for life, something big is lurking in the water. To hinder, to help, it doesn't matter. Those days make the hair on the back of your neck stand up for no reason, and look at every situation twice before moving on. By the way Sasuke glared at me for taking so long to put myself together in the morning, he wasn't having the same trepidation I was. And if I told him, he'd chalk it up to the fact that we were going back to school for the first time in a couple of days. It wasn't one of those days for him. But for me?

I just knew something was going to happen.

"Are you going to get out?" I peered up at him from the passenger seat of his car, Sasuke leaning against the opened door to stare down at me. I glanced around him, already noticing several people looking over at us. From the fact we were back, or the fact he was leaning in my personal space, I wasn't sure. Maybe both.

"You gonna get out of my way?" I replied. His answer was a soft scoff and a roll of his eyes before he stepped back to give me room to stand. I tugged at the collar of my shirt that I borrowed from Sasuke, making sure any evidence of Sasuke's hickies were gone. The last thing I needed was more people staring from the bruising.

"For someone who lacks intelligence, you sure get lost inside of your head easily." It would have been mature to ignore the comment. But I needed to submerge myself into someone normal while trying to forget about the whispering I could already pick up.

"Shut up! I'd kick your ass if we weren't at school!"

"You'd try."

"Try? TRY?! You stupid bastard!" He glanced to me from the corner of his eye while we walked toward the front doors of the school, seeming amused at his own silent joke by the smirk on his lips.

"I guess it's easy to get lost in the vast amount of space located between your ears." I could almost feel the steam bursting from my ears at the mental fuming I was racing through. I moved to retort, but a sudden flashback of Monday came back to me when the hallway instantly fell silent. Much more knowledgeable than my first trip down the hallway, I didn't bother to try and make eye contact with anyone around us. Instead, I concentrated on the weird squeaking noise my shoes made against the polished floor. My gaze didn't lift from the floor before I knocked into Sasuke, who had abruptly stopped in the middle of the hall. Or, I thought he had. In reality, we now stood in front of my locker.

"That was quicker than normal."

"Or you weren't paying attention." By the way he said it, I knew Sasuke could see how uncomfortable I was with the stares. Unlike him, I wasn't able to shrug off the spotlight that was unwillingly placed over my head. Some people tried to make their staring subtle, only glancing over every few seconds. Other seemed to have no problem gawking. And even though Sasuke was used to the attention, I wasn't.

"What are you all looking at?" As if I had broken the fourth wall during a performance, the audience seemed shocked as I acknowledged them. Ashamed at being caught, many looked away and forced conversations to resume. The noise calmed my tense shoulders, and my back relaxed under the gentle touch on my spine. Wait, touch? My back muscled unconsciously flexed, feeling Sasuke's fingers resting there. My back was facing my locker, making it hard for anyone to see the silent touch. Still, I felt my cheeks flame at the intimate gesture in such a crowded area. Maybe I was over thinking the touch, because Sasuke didn't seem to even notice what he was doing while he scanned the hallway for any lingering glances.

"Pathetic," He mumbled, and instantly I knew what he was referring to.

"They can't help it I guess." It was strange, allowing myself to relax so close to him. This was Sasuke after all. In these halls, countless times, me and Sasuke had fought. I glanced a few lockers down from mine, wincing at the slight indent that was created by my cranium four months ago. Looking away from it, I shifted at how our touches had changed over the course of a couple weeks. But then again, a lot more than that had been altered in our relationship since we met Kakashi.

"Hn." He didn't seem to like my reasoning, but didn't question it while he turned to his own locker. The hand on my back left, taking the slight warmth with it. I scowled, though I tried to ignore it while I threw my stuff into my locker.

"Yo!" A familiar voice entered the hallway, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Kiba grinning while he ran over. Shikamaru followed behind, looking completely bored with the situation.

"What's up dog breath?" Instantly his smile turned into a grimace, which only made me laugh. "What, you expect me to tear up and hug you or something? It's only been two days."

"Yeah, but you've been cooped up with Sasuke! I thought you'd be dying to get some actual human contact." I didn't need to look at Sasuke to know he was glaring at the laughing brunette. Feeling slightly bad for the bastard, I shrugged before slinging my arm around his shoulders and grinning.

"He ain't that bad once you get past the stick up his ass. Really, he's just a bunny underneath all of that evilness."

"Don't touch me." I ignored him, naturally. A voice in my head suggested my own need to stay connected to him, but I ignored that too. Instead, I turned my attention to my lazy friend who seemed more occupied with the stains on the ceiling than our actual conversation. "So Shika, I heard your date with Ino went well."

"Once you and Sasuke left, yes." Damn him! I knew his intention was to sway the conversation back toward me and Sasuke, which worked perfectly when Kiba sent us a suspicious look.

"Dude, you went on a date with Uchiha?"

"No! Ino just asked for a favor!"

"So Ino made you date him?" I could feel myself flushing at the half-truth behind that statement. But there was no way I was going to tell Kiba it was a date.

"She was just nervous about being with Shikamaru. So me and Sasuke were going to tag along to make her feel better, but it got all uh…well, messed up."

"Ah, I see." Finally dog-breath gets it! "So you were going to go on a date with him?"

"I really hate you." And I would have tried to explain it again if not for the sudden bell that rang over our heads. I glanced around, realizing that the halls had long since been deserted. Which meant one important thing for me. "Shit! I'm going to be late for science!"

"You might want to hurry; I heard Anko was in a bad mood this morning." The all informative Shika emphasized his point with a nod.

"Thanks," I said dryly, shutting my locker with my foot before I ran toward my class. Well, tried. Unfortunately, my arm was still securely locked around Sasuke's neck, which caused both of us to stumble to the floor.

"You complete moron." Alright, I deserved that one. Pushing off of my ass, I glanced to make sure the bastard wasn't dying before I looked up at the others and grinned.

"See ya in class! I've got some ass kissing to do." Which, luckily, wasn't a lot. Monday's mood still hung lightly over some of my classes, mainly with my teachers than the students. Anko gave me a warning, but I could tell she was going easy on me by how quiet she kept her tone. I got several looks when I moved back into my seat, but they easily lost interest when I did nothing that they expected. I guess they wanted to see tears or some type of vulnerability that I refused to show now. I was always taught to be strong when faced with challenges, which sometimes was easier said than done. It got easier toward the end of the school day, when I had friends to talk to in class. None of them looked at me strangely, or tried to handle me like I was something too fragile to talk to. In all honestly, it made it easier to ignore the slight ache in my heart than when people tried to be 'sympathetic' and brought attention to how truly alone I could be. Or may have been, if not for my friends.

"I'm not letting you write." I whined slightly at the glare Sasuke sent me across the table. Me, along with Sasuke, Shika, and Kiba, were all working on an in-class project for history. But after figuring out the time line of the civil war, Sasuke refused to let me near the poster board.

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because you'll ruin it."

"I have to agree with the drama king," Kiba said, nodding while he leaned back in his chair. "Your handwriting is about a legible as chicken scratch. Hell, Akamaru writes neater than you."

"You dog also thinks better than him." I puffed my cheeks out at the constant insulting from my group. So far, the only one who had been able to keep himself off of my hit-list was Shikamaru, who was finishing up the last few facts from the book.

"Shut up bastard!" I shouted, instantly getting a look from Iruka, our teacher. I ignored it, continuing to glare at Sasuke. "Like your handwriting is any better."

"It looks English, which is all we need. You, unfortunately, do not fit the criteria." He smirked, seeming to enjoy the frustrating banter. I moved to tell him where to shove that smirk before Shika cut it.

"We're going to need someone to go get markers from the art room." Without another word I stood.

"Gladly. Anything to get the hell away from Sasuke."

"Aw come on, he can't be that bad if you were going to go on a da—" Making sure Iruka wasn't looking, I kicked the bottom of Kiba's chair, making it tilt enough for him to crash onto the floor. By the time Iruka figured out who was on the floor, I was already at the door.

"Going to the art room!" I could hear him yelling my name as I snickered and ran out of the room. I already knew that Kiba was going to have a shiner by the time I came back, which only made my grin widen. He deserved it anyways! So I had no problem releasing any sense of responsibility for Kiba's wound as I moved into the art room, knocking on the door before entering. The class was filled with kids, while the radio blasted in the background. It was a refreshing atmosphere that I wouldn't mind joining in if I had one artistic bone in my body. But really, I wasn't quite 'deep' enough. Oh, and I also couldn't draw a straight line.

"Naruto?" I blinked once before glancing to my left, seeing a familiar blond haired, blue eyed girl smeared in pink paint.

"Ino!" I forgot she hadn't been missed by the artistic gene. Smiling at seeing a face I knew, I walked over to her easel to see what she was painting. "Where's the teacher?"

"Oh, she went to grab a janitor. Someone spilled paint all over the floor."

"Damn, I needed to ask her for some markers." Ino rolled her eyes before she hopped off of her stool, moving over to a white cabinet and pulling out a bundle of markers held together with an elastic band.

"What colors do you need?"

"Just give me the whole thing. Never know what the picky bastard will want to use." She laughed while handing me the markers, already knowing who I was talking about. "So what's the nature scene for?"

"Our art teacher paired us up so we could do a joint paint project. My partner's really into nature stuff. Oh, I've told you about him before! Sai, remember?" Sai…I remembered the name. Really well. This seemed strange to me. If it was in a passing conversation, why did it make me almost…angry?

"Have I ever met him?"

"I don't think so. He doesn't hang out with our group, so I doubt it." She paused before she shrugged. "He's very hard to forget, that's for sure."

"Who is?" The voice went through me like a knife. Like I was stuck in a horror movie, I slowly turned around to be greeted with a sickly sweet smile. A smile I had hated the first time I had seen it in Lowes.

"You!" I shot my finger to point at his forehead, which seemed to bother Ino more than the prick.

"Hello Naruto-kun. It's always a pleasure." And yet, I knew he was already thinking of ways to make fun of me.

"You two know each other?" Ino asked, blinking.

"Yeah! He's the bastard who said I was an idiot!"

"Ah, I see you're just as loud as before. Ino, is there an off button of your blond-headed friend?"

"Off butt—YOU need one!"

"And you need a penis." I gaped as I stared at him, completely thrown off at the insult.

"Will one of you tell me how you know each other?"

"He came into Lowe's with half a brain and no color sense. How you can stand such an obnoxious friend astounds me, Ino." He needed to die. And if we weren't in front of so many witnesses, I would have made that happen very quickly.

"You…I…gah I hate you!" By now, the class had stopped working on their pieces in order to see what was going on. And from the outside, I would assume the scene would be comical. I was growing flushed from the way he spoke to me, while Sai seemed to only grow more amused with our argument.

"Jealousy is not a good look for you."

"Jealousy?! Why the hell would I be jealous of you?"

"Too many reasons. I'm not sure your brain can store that type of information."

"You as—" The entire class went silent with me when Sai leaned forward, placing a kiss onto my lips. I froze, eyes wide and cheeks burning from the unexpected contact. It took me too long to realize what was really happening, and I didn't have time to hit him before he pulled out of my reach and smiled.

"You're cute when you get flustered, Naruto-kun." If I even had something to say, my lips were still as Sai walked around me to sit in front of the easel again. Even when I heard people start to mumble around me I didn't move. It wasn't until Ino placed a concerned hand to my shoulder that I snapped from my stance to look back at her.

"Did I mention that Sai doesn't seem to understand personal boundaries? It's just an uh…quirk about him." A quirk? _That's _how she explained it? First the kid molested me in the store, and now he was kissing me in school? I glanced around the room, uneasiness gripping my stomach at the giggles and whistles I was now getting. What were they thinking?!

"Naruto! What are you doing in my classroom?" I heard the teacher's voice, but I couldn't seem to get myself to answer. After my lips failed to make noise, I gripped the markers tighter and ran out of the class. This time, I didn't stop running while I pressed the back of my hand to my lips, trying to forget the past two minutes of my life. What was wrong with that guy? Just running around, kissing people that were obviously not into him. And in public too! Now people were going to think I was…

Slowly, I stopped in the deserted hallway outside of my history class, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes. Think what? That I was gay? I scrunched my nose slowly at the thought. No, I couldn't be gay, because I liked girls. Well, I liked them too. And the only guy I had ever really...well…reacted to was Sasuke. So I couldn't be _gay_, I just liked Sasuke. Which mean I was bi, right?

"When the hell did this get so complicated?" I mumbled, running my free hand through my hair.

"Only you could make finding markers difficult." I jumped at the dry voice, almost slamming my head back into the wall. Luckily I caught myself, jerking my attention back to the lazy kids in front of me. We stood on opposite sides of the corridor, both leaning against our respected wall.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, blinking. He sighed loudly as if somehow, the question was a burden.

"Bathroom. You?"

"I…don't know." I guess I could have thought up a lie, but Shikamaru was too smart to fall for anything I said. He studied me for a moment, as if waiting for me to say something else. And like a doll, my mouth opened at his silent question. "I think I'm bisexual."

"And the markers told you this?" If he was surprised by my confession, he didn't show it. Then again, telling him he was the king of England would probably just get a sigh out of him.

"No! It's…complicated."

"Alright." I stared when Shikamaru pushed off of the wall, glancing down to the markers before walking away. "You should get back to class before it ends."

"Wait! That's it? No questioning or nothing?"

"You said it was complicated. I don't like complicated things. That's Ino's job, not mine." And before I could say anything, he continued to walk and talk. "I know what I need to know. It doesn't change anything in my eyes."

"But Shika!" He waved carelessly behind him before taking the corner of the hallway and leaving me alone again. He sure didn't pry like Ino and Sakura did. Normally I had to fight them from figuring out before I caved and told them what happened. Then again, Shikamaru was a completely different type of person. I should have known he wouldn't.

I went back to the room after a few minutes, leaving us enough time to finish the project. When Shikamaru came back, he didn't comment about the short discussion we had in the hallway. In fact, he didn't seem to even remember the conversation at all. True to his word, nothing changed for him. It relaxed and bothered me at the same time. I was glad that Shikamaru didn't care about my sexuality. Still, I wasn't sure how everyone else would react to the information. Ino already knew, but what about Kiba? What about _Sakura? _Just thinking about telling her made me sick. What would she say? I wasn't sure what she would do, especially when she found out who I liked.

And Sasuke was just a whole other story.

"Damnit." I stared up at myself through Sasuke's mirror, letting the water I splashed over my face try to cool my nerves. Unintentionally, I hadn't told Sasuke that I had seen Sai again. The rest of the day seemed to fly by way faster than I had expected. But what would he do if I did tell him? Would he even care? My face burned at the memory of the last encounter with Sai. Yeah, I think it would bother him. The real question should have been if he had the right to be mad. In a sense, we weren't even dating. Neither one of us had asked the other out, but yet Sasuke did not seem pleased with Sai coming near me. I paused to try and think how I would feel if the roles were reversed. Sure, I was used to girls coming onto Sasuke, and I was just as used to Sasuke turning them down. But what if it was only one, who advanced on him even after he kept saying no? Could I say that I would honestly be alright with that scenario now?

No wonder I had gotten so angry at Sakura that snowy morning.

"Damnit!"

"If you are planning to continue complaining about yourself to the mirror, please remove yourself from the bathroom. I'm sure you can find another mirror in my house to stare at." I jumped for what seemed like the 100th time that day. I turned toward the irked voice, glancing up as Sasuke and glaring.

"What's your problem? Can't a guy have a little bit of privacy?"

"You've been in here for ten minutes. I need to shower. Leave."

"You know, this ain't just your bathroom anymore. What if I had wanted to take a shower?"

"Then you can. After I'm finished." I huffed as he started to prepare the shower for himself, signaling his impatience for my departure. I waited for him to glance over to me before I stuck my tongue out at him. He snorted while I headed for the door.

"Fine, I don't need one anyways." He answered me with a shutting of the door on my ass. I glared back at the innocent door behind me before I huffed my way toward his dresser. I already knew what I was looking for when I yanked open the first two drawers, grabbing some of his sleepwear for the night. I changed slowly, somehow convincing myself that Sasuke would be out of the shower before I finished. But it only took a few minutes, and I stared up at Sasuke's ceiling, not bothering to turn the lights on in the dark room. Shadows from the outside lights played along the flat surface, and I tried to make shapes out of them. Occasionally I'd look over to the door, waiting to hear the shower still on before distracting myself again.

It felt strange, being completely alone and quiet. For the past week, I hadn't had one moment of real silence. Either I was at school, with friends, or doing something with Sasuke. And if I was somehow alone, I was too wrapped up in the events around me to realize it. But now, none of that was true. I was just here, observing the darkness battle the light onto the ceiling. I was just…alone. An uneasiness continued to surge in my stomach, a natural reaction I had whenever I felt like this. Jiraiya used to tell me that everyone got like that, but I wasn't sure it was the same as them.

"Gramps…" I hadn't talked to him since Monday. I winced slightly when I realized how much of the blame I had put on him. Really, I couldn't hate the pervert even if I had wanted to. And now, after a couple days brought back any sense of reasoning I had, I knew he didn't deserve my anger. Really, what was he to do? His son was asking him for something, and don't parents always try to do what they can for their kids? I kept thinking of him as my grandfather instead of my dad's dad. And even though it sounded like the same person, it wasn't. As Minato's father, he had different responsibilities. One of those was to help him out any way he could, and keeping me with him instead of shipping me off into some orphanage was his way of telling my father he was there.

"Hello?" But it didn't make it any easier to speak when I heard his voice on the other side of my cell phone. I sat straight up in Sasuke's bed, my hand almost crushing the cell phone from the pressure I was putting on it.

"Gramps, uh…it's me." It was all I could muster out.

"Naruto?" As if he could see me, I nodded. Somehow, I knew he would understand. There was a pause before a soft chuckle filled my ear. "You pulled yourself away from Sasuke, I see."

"Gah!" Well that wasn't expected. I thought maybe a few sappy words and a 'where the hell have you been' would have been nice, but this was gramps we were talking about. "You pervert! Nothing's changed since I left, has it?!"

"Well, I've been eating more of your ramen." My eye twitched at the casual response.

"You did what?!"

"Well, you wouldn't want it to go stale, right?"

"They last two years!" I shouted, no longer caring how long it had been since we talked. The pervert was eating my ramen, _again_, without my permission. What was I, a ramen shop?

"Correction, they _would _have lasted two years. But it's not important right now."

"You—"

"Are you going to be coming tomorrow?" I took a moment to stomp down my anger, but some still leaked out.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Of course I'm going."

"Good, because I know your parents would have liked to have you there."

"Yeah…" I closed my eyes halfway, anger slipping away much easier than before.

"You doing okay, kid?"

"I think so. Better than Monday, if that's what you mean."

"I knew you wouldn't be held down for long. I didn't teach you that, at least."

"No, you just tried to teach me to look up girl's skirts on escalators," I said bluntly, rolling my eyes at his hearty laugh.

"I was simply showing you the beauty of women."

"And from the way Tsunade avoids you, I'm glad I didn't pay attention." Despite our slight bantering, I felt my body quickly calming. There was no awkwardness, nothing to show that the pervert had taken anything from Monday to heart. And at such a confusing time in my life, it was good to know I still have Jiraiya to talk to. "Hey, gramps...?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think…I mean, it's just a stupid question but…do you think mom and dad would have cared who…who I liked?" I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the nerves prickling against my spine to focus on Jiraiya's response. It took a few tense seconds, but a short huff of laughter shattered the moment.

"Your parents wouldn't care if you fell in love with a pineapple. Not that I'm suggesting it. And I don't think they would either. But your parents were good people who really loved you, kid. All they wanted was for you to be happy and safe. And if it's a pineapple or a…certain black-haired Uchiha, they wouldn't care."

"I-I didn't say a-anything about Sasuke! You pervert," I replied, trying to glare through the phone.

"It was simply a more realistic example than a pineapple."

"Liar."

"All I'm saying is…don't worry about what your parents wanted for you. As long as you're doing what you want, and you're happy doing it, then know that you're already making them happy. They loved you a lot, Naruto. Always remember that."

"And…" I looked out the window, my nerves starting to come back.

"If Sasuke's the one who gets you going, go for it. I have no qualms with the kid. But don't let him control too much of the fun." My eyes almost popped from my head at the blunt statement. Cheeks burning, I tried to keep my voice from cracking.

"Don't go saying creepy shit like that! And that's not what I'm even talking about!"

"So it was the pineapple? Always knew you had a thing for spiky-hair, but that's a little excessive."

"YOU PERVERT!"

"Well I'd love to keep this conversation going; I've got to go meet up with my beautiful Tsunade." I rolled my eyes, falling back against the bed.

"Don't you mean _stalk_?"

"That's just a negative word. I prefer 'pursue with passionate love'."

"She's going to rip you apart, ya know. You're not going to be able to walk tomorrow."

"The same might be said for you soon. Bye kid!" It was only after he had already left that I realized what he was implying. I almost choked on my own shock, coughing a few times to get my airway working again. I rolled onto my side, burying into the pillow while silently plotting Jiraiya's death. Hopefully, Tsunade would do it for me.

Maybe, from the angle that I was in, Sasuke couldn't tell if I was asleep or not. To his credit, I was facing the right way. Also, I had been quiet while thinking of the 'disappearance' of the pervert. I should have of noticed the gentle dip behind me, or the sheets that were moving around me. But it wasn't until I felt a hesitant brush against my hip, did I suddenly realize the extra body of heat in the bed. I almost opened my eyes, but the way the soft fingers rolled over the skin kept them closed and me silent. It didn't stop me from shivering, but even if I was asleep I had a feeling I would do that. His hand paused on my hip, which lay bare from the sliding of my shirt. The fingers wrapped around to the front, where they laid inches from sliding underneath my sleep pants. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to pull away. My breath hitched slightly when I felt his fingers pull me back into his body, willingly allowing his body curl around mine. The warmth was the same as always, enticing mine to relax and press closer to his.

"Idiot." His lips brushed against the shell of my hair, causing a darker flush to rise onto my cheeks. The color continued to deepen when he scoffed. "Knew it. Go to bed."

"You…I…" And then I fell silent, because there was nothing to say. He wasn't pressing the subject, but he wasn't leaving either. His breath curled around the back of my neck, making the hair shiver and stick up. The warmth of his body seeped into my back, starting to lull me into a hazy phase between the real and dream world. I was holding onto his arm, as if somehow it would stop him from leaving. Not that he was in a hurry to go. Maybe he really wanted to be there. That's what I continued to tell myself when I crept into the comfort of sleep. He didn't leave during the night, not that I really expected him to. Once the Uchiha made up his mind, he didn't back out.

I learned that the hard way, of course. When I mentioned returning to school before the memorial, he instantly shot the idea. I argued, since I was fine in school the day before (excluding Sai, which Sasuke didn't know about) and it would seem weird if I only went one day. We argued through breakfast, while I got ready for school, and through the search for both mine and Sasuke's hidden car keys. And after I was sure I would be missing over half of the school day, I gave up and stormed into the kitchen to make lunch. I ignored the triumphant smirk he gave while we ate. Cocky bastard.

"I can't believe you kept them in your jeans," I grumbled, glaring over to Sasuke from across his couch. He didn't move his gaze from the movie I had demanded to watch.

"What is the point behind this girl in the movie?" I blinked and glanced to see Meagan Fox run across the screen.

"That, Sasuke, is Mikaela Banes, A.K.A Meagan Fox."

"And her point?"

"To be hot? She'd give Ray Charles a boner." He scoffed at my explanation, as if it was out of the ordinary. "Come on Sasuke, look at her body!"

"Does her_ character _have a point?" I stared at the TV, watching the famous engine scene that every man in the world put on repeat at least six times. I debated answering his question while the camera slid over her perfectly tanned body that had both 'Sam' and me staring. Oh yeah, I still liked girls.

"She helps and stuff…" Not that I really could remember anything big that she did. Well, besides driving bumblebee around in that tow truck. Even _then _she looked hot.

"Hn." I glanced over to watch Sasuke stand up, slightly shocked he was able to do anything when Meagan Fox was on the screen. So when he started to leave the room, my surprise heightened.

"Wh-Where the heck are you going?!"

"To get ready for tonight." I knew I avoided looking at the clock when I glared at the wall to my side.

"But…but the movie. "

"Pause it."

"…Just wait a second. It's getting to the good part!"

"Moron-"

"T-This is where Sam thinks his car is get—"

"Naruto." Once he was sure I wasn't going to speak, he continued. "The service starts in a half hour."

"I know!" I snapped out quickly. I rose to my feet as if Sasuke had challenged me to fight instead of simply telling me why we couldn't continue watching the movie. I'm sure Sasuke knew what was running through my mind by the stern stare he sent me. In embarrassment and anger I looked away, forcing my bangs to hide any tell-tale signs from him. But the trembling in my clenched fists spoke in volumes. "I know that…"

"Hn." Without warning he moved, capturing my hip with one of his hands while the other grabbed my chin. I growled and tried to pull my face away, to keep my eyes hidden from his view, but he wouldn't let go. So I blinked fast and glared, which doesn't work well together. As it was, his face was completely blurry. I struggled to breathe through my nose, keeping myself from letting out noise from my mouth.

"W-What?" I muttered weakly, my lashes dampening when I realized that my shaky voice gave way to my act.

"Stop being weak, dobe."

In an instant, a gentle pressure was coaxing my mouth open. My eyes widened, leaving nowhere for my tears to go but down the sides of my cheeks. Feeling stupid for doing exactly what Sasuke said not to, I slammed my eyes shut and focused on the quiet mouth against mine. Where normally one of us would deepen the kiss, Sasuke remained at a soft level, barely swiping my lips with his tongue before sliding it back into his own mouth. His fingers never left my chin, stopping me from advancing anywhere. It wasn't loud or rough like most of our previous touches. Still, it left my knees pathetically straining to keep me up while my heart beat rapidly inside of my chest. Despite the insult he used, I knew he didn't kiss me because of it. The lack of force behind the…_nickname _showed he used it for his own needs, to keep me focused on him. The tears continued to well up behind my eyelids, and I felt chocked up when he lifted his lips from mine. A second set of tears created their own path down my skin when I re-opened my eyes, looking up at the intense stare he gave me. I wouldn't turn my head, my pride stamping out any pleading of my stomach or heart. I had never backed down from Sasuke before, and I didn't plan on starting.

"Good." His statement left me confused and soon alone when he pulled his heat away from my body to return back to the entrance of the room. He didn't spare me a look back. "Now get ready."

"Yeah." We didn't seem to be talking to each other. It was more like we were talking to ourselves out loud while the other one was still in the room. And we didn't talk again while we were preparing or leaving for the memorial. He remained silent when he showed me how to secure the tie around my neck, and I hadn't bothered to ask which car we were taking. I simply waited for him to unlock the mustang. I didn't even need to tell him where it was; the smart teme had already gotten the information from someone else.

It wasn't hard to realize something big was going on in the town hall. Several cars were filling up the parking lot, while numerous people dressed in black walked toward the building. It shocked me how hard it was to find a parking spot, and I wondered if I had gotten the time mixed up. Then again, I assumed most of these people got the information from the same newspaper that I did. So when I saw a line outside of the main doors, I almost stopped in my walking. Luckily Sasuke was there to keep me moving toward the other entrance that I was directed to use. Yesterday, when Tsunade had told me to use the side door instead, I didn't understand why. Now it was pretty obvious that I would have never made it through the line to get in.

I entered the large hall that once had been decorated with festive Christmas colors. Now, the place was bare and dark, with white candles lighting the few steps to the stage. I could tell they had set up a table of assorted things on the stage, but I couldn't bring myself to go over there just yet. Instead, I glanced up at the walls, which now sported tons of wreaths bought by my parent's friends. Even after being gone for so long, the walls were littered with them. It was only then that I knew why they had used the town hall, instead of the traditional funeral home, to honor my parent's memory. They just simply knew they were going to need the room.

"Naruto." I stopped looking around the dimly lit room to turn my attention to the silver haired pervert behind me. Wait, that could be both of them too. Seriously, perverts needed to look different if they were going to live in the same community.

"I thought this thing didn't start for another ten minutes? What's with all of the people already here, gramps?" Despite the dark air that hung around us, Jiraiya smiled and clapped his hands on both me and Sasuke's shoulders.

"Your father made a big impact on this town, as well as the surrounding areas around it. I wouldn't be surprised if half of Konoha are waiting outside right now. That's why we had to rent the hall, though I'm sure you've figure that out by now, kid. We got the suggestion from our neighbors from Suna, who had a similar problems a few years back. " His gaze flickered over to Sasuke, who had continued to stay silent. But there was no doubt that I saw his eyes flicker in unwanted memories.

"How long do you think this will go on for?" I wanted to change the subject before Sasuke became uncomfortable. I could already tell from the tenseness in the arm pressed to mine that Sasuke was reliving his parent's wake.

"A few hours, I bet. Since tomorrow is a Saturday, I'm sure some people will be coming to pay their respects late."

"Alright, thanks," I said, struggling to smile when Jiraiya nodded. His gaze went over my shoulder, his hold dropping when something seemed to catch his interest. Instantly, I knew who it was and sighed. "Tell Tsunade I said hi."

"I will." He looked like a lost puppy finding his owner when he left, leaving me and Sasuke alone again. Sasuke's gaze was taking in the hall, and I winced a bit when Jiraiya's words came back to me. It must have looked identical to him. The wreaths, the candles, the emptiness that filled the ballroom. He had known, before he had even pulled me away from the movie, what he was walking into. Like anyone that knew the surface Uchiha Sasuke would expect, he stood unaffected and strong in spite of this. But for me, who couldn't fall for the façade even if I wanted to, I saw a different Sasuke. I saw his eyes darkening and changing, the bridge of his nose faintly wrinkling to keep his tear ducks from reacting. I felt how his arm continued to tense and tremble, even through both of our sleeves. His mouth was pressed into a thin scowl, which kept his emotions at bay. When I had learned to read Sasuke so well, I didn't know. I just did. Maybe because sometimes, when I forced myself to smile and laugh instead of cry, I made my nose to scrunch the same way. And smiles worked just as good as frowns. Half of me wished I could go back to the blissful ignorance that once clouded my vision when it came to Sasuke. But the other, stronger half, felt better knowing Sasuke wasn't alone.

I was hesitant at first, but I swallowed my fears and slid my arm around Sasuke's waist to tug him closer to me. He glanced down the same time I looked up, and my insecurity was evident in my shaky smile and nervous glance. His eyes slid half mast, and it was then his sadness struck something in my stomach. I breathed out quietly when I pushed myself up to bump my forehead against his gently. He scowled slightly at the hit, and I grinned and bumped our foreheads together again. This time, I made sure not to lose the connection.

"Teme." I didn't mind, for once, that I had to lean slightly on my toes to keep my forehead against him. Sasuke had always been taller than me, which he blamed on my 'rapid consumption of ramen'. If he made fun of me this time, I'd just ignore it. To keep the warm contact between our foreheads, between our eyes…it'd be worth it.

"Dobe." The quietest tremor seeped into his voice, which answered why he tried to keep his voice hushed. He didn't want me to hear what I already knew. There were only a few people in the hall, and all were too distracted with final touches to the room to notice my quiet kiss. I kept it short, because my cheeks were scalding before our lips had even met. He barely had time to return the pressure to my mouth when I pulled back, an unexplainable heaviness surrounding my heart. Despite the pain in the pit of my stomach from everything around us, the pressure made my lips quirk into another smile. Silently, I knew I had gotten my message across to him. It was a message I had continued to press into his skull for the past week. It was a message I wish I had known to say five years ago.

_I'm here. _

"I don't know how this works…" I admitted weakly against his mouth, keeping my eyes shut. Somewhere during the soft connection of our lips, I deemed it too embarrassing to keep my eyes open. The next admission only added to the awkwardness. "I…don't wanna mess up my parents' day. Can you just…stay with me?"

"Hn." For a minute, I thought I was asking too much. To have him come here was hard. To stand next to me, someone who would be wearing the shoes he had five years ago, may have been too much for him. But thinking of being along up there scared me. I didn't want to admit it, because being vulnerable was only made worse by being open about it. And though I didn't mind crying in front of people, I didn't want to be alone. I had gone through losing them alone once before. The thought of doing it again had my arms wrapping around his neck in uncertainty. So I waited anxiously while Sasuke scoffed and tightened his arms around my waist. "Where else would I go, moron?"

"Bastard." But it came out as a relived sigh instead of an insult. I finally opened my eyes, watching as the helpers moved to open the front the door. It was hard (much harder than I ever wanted to admit), but I pulled myself from Sasuke in order to breath out the flush in my cheeks.

"You stand here." Like a puppet master, Sasuke lead my movements quietly to the stairs and next to the end of the tables. I stared at all of the pictures that were collected of my parents. Baby photos, middle school pictures, high school snapshots, adult photographs. Some were from my house, and it pained me to realize I had once hid all of my pictures the same way Sasuke did. How could they have been so selfless? To give up their lives just to make sure that I wouldn't be in harm's way? And for that, I had once hated them. The guilt was worse than the emptiness, both creating a horrible ache throughout my body.

All this time, I had thought they didn't care about me enough to stay. And yet now, staring down at their smiling faces while they held me, I discovered the truth. They cared about me _too much _to stay. The feeling was overwhelming, and I thought I was going to throw up. I deserved to feel sick. Despite Jiraiya's constant assurance that I was my parents' world, I had always felt angry. Like I was the victim. Like I was the one running for my life. And yet, now, I knew the truth. I was lucky to have them for as long as I did. I pressed the back of my hand onto my mouth to stifle my pathetic sob. Limbs shaking from the raw emotions moving through my body, I tilted my head backwards to stop any tears from falling. But soon after, I felt a hand shifting to the back of my head, pushing it back to face the crowd of people that were entering the quiet ballroom. I choked on a sob before looking up at Sasuke, who dropped his hand from my hair and scowled.

"I already told you. Don't be weak." When I tried (and failed) to make a response, he grabbed my hand covering my mouth and pulled it back to my side, unintentionally holding it in his own. "Let it go."

"Sa-Sasuke…" I hiccupped, because the crying was uncontrollable now and it was making it hard to get enough oxygen into my body. He didn't answer my call, turning his attention back to the people that were heading toward us. Quietly I wiped my cheeks with my free hand, which only made room for more tears to come down. But his comment, to let it go…Sasuke never let his composure falter. Even when he felt weak or vulnerable, it was hard to detect it. Impossible if you didn't know him. Sasuke never let it go. He never showed anything, never cried or screamed. Even now, where I knew he was affected by the memorial, he didn't show it. But he said to stop being weak and let it go. And Sasuke never let it go. Which meant…

Did Sasuke think of himself as…_weak?_

The question slowly faded from my head when people came to pay their respects not only to my parents, but myself as well. I was stunned and unsure how to respond when the Konoha people came to me. People who, just days before, had stared at me in pity and sometimes distaste. So when they would say things like 'I'm sorry for your losses' and 'Your parents were good people', I could only cry harder and smile at them. Because even if they had shunned me, had turned me into a fairytale monster through rumors and whispers, I knew why they had done it now. Just like my parents, they were scared for their children. They didn't want them harmed, or turned down a path they couldn't control. For some reason, it made the loneliness from before a little more bearable to look back at. And now, being up close to their town 'demon', they saw me for what I was. A good seventeen year old boy who lost his parents and lived to tell about it. One who could cry and feel just like their teenagers. One who was raised to be just fine, even without his parents' complete guidance. I wasn't perfect, and I wasn't evil. I was just Uzumaki Naruto.

Ino and Shikamaru were the first to show up. One look at me had Ino bursting into tears, which seemed to be a common trait with blondes. Shikamaru remained quiet, but I knew what he wanted to say without needing to hear it. They stayed with me for a while, soon accompanied by Sakura. It felt good to see Sakura, but I hid Sasuke's hold on my hand much more carefully around her than the other two. I had to completely drop the hold when she hugged me, hiding her tears in my collar. The three of them left after a while, after I promised that I wouldn't hesitate to call if I needed something. When they moved down into the crowd, I noticed a familiar mop of black hair standing near Ino. It worried me a bit more than I wanted to admit, because I didn't need Sasuke to find out anything yet. Not tonight, at least. And luckily, Sai never came to bother us. Even the creep knew when to keep his distance.

It was only after they left that I realized Sakura had not made one comment to the silent boy next to me. I didn't know if it was the mood, or the words from the restaurant that got through to her. Either way, it felt good. Almost as nice as the return of pale fingers between my tanned ones.

Several more people came through. The rest of my group shifted through, like Kiba who joked while holding the blushing Hinata's hand. Neji and Tenten came, and it was the only real time that Sasuke spoke during the night. I almost felt embarrassed at the fact that Sasuke didn't let go of my hand during Neji's talk. I knew the brunette had noticed it when he arched an eloquent eyebrow (Of course he could do it too), but Neji was too well-mannered to say anything. Tenten giggled, but only smiled when I flushed and looked away. It helped make the water works stop. That, or I just ran out of tears to cry. By the end of the night, the side of my pants was soaked by the multiple times I wiped my tears onto them. But I didn't care really.

When the doors finally closed to the public, I took my time in looking through the pictures of my parents. It was the only time that Sasuke left me, and slightly surprised me when he silently moved over to the two perverts and Tsunade. I only let it bother me for a second before I turned my attention back to the collection of photos. There, sitting in front of me, was everything I had ever wanted to know about my parents. From the timeline set up, I could see they met when they were young. Dad also became a cop when he was young, and I couldn't help but be drawn to the pictures of him at work. I looked through the old photos quietly, not exactly recognizing everyone. Jiraiya was in some, even Tsunade.

But there was one picture that caught my attention. As crazy as it sounded, I thought I had seen Sasuke. But then, when I looked closer, I realized it wasn't him. But it was an Uchiha. Standing behind a desk with my father's arm around his neck, looking just like a brooding Sasuke, was Fugaku. Sasuke's father. Despite the grimace on his face, my father seemed happy and close to the older Uchiha. At first, it didn't make sense. My dad was a cop in Konoha, and Sasuke's father a politician in Suna. But slowly, the memory of gramp's story came back to me.

"_So when he was asked to help in an ongoing investigation a few towns over, to help ensure peace continued in Konoha, he agreed. He worked closely with the town officials in Suna as an undercover cop" _

Town officials in Suna. One of which was murdered a few years after my parents' disappearance. They both were killed, because they worked together. I felt my stomach drop as I slowly looked up from the pictures, turning to face the group in the middle of the ballroom. I stared at Sasuke, who seemed to only be giving short answers to the group of adults around him. My hand remained on the picture as I watched them, one thought racing through my head. A lot of the things that happened, I had 'repressed'. Mainly anything to do with the death threats and attempts before my parents left. But…what about Sasuke?

_Did Sasuke know something about this that I didn't? _

I jumped when Sasuke's gaze darted to mine. Without thinking I snatched the picture, stuffing it in my pocket while I walked toward him. Kakashi seemed to be happier than he should be, but then again the pervert was always smiling. His hand extended a piece of paper to Sasuke, who took it without so much of a twitch in his features. Whatever Kakashi was giving him, Sasuke wasn't pleased. Tsunade looked up from the conversation, being the first of the adults to notice my entrance.

"How are you doing, Naruto?" I waited to catch the twin pervert's attention before I shrugged.

"I'm ready to go home and sleep." The smile that reached Kakashi's face confused me for only a second before the conversation got cut short. I got yanked from the group before I even had time to hear Tsunade's response. I glanced up at my kidnapper, glaring at the back of his head. "Sasuke!"

"Shut up." I blinked at the sudden bitterness that slipped into his voice. What the heck happened while I was gone?

"Where…where the hell are you taking me?" The sentence rewarded me with something that stopped my heart cold in my chest.

"To meet my parents."

**Well? –grins- I bet you didn't see that coming! Things are starting to get intense in Naruto's world. So what's going on with Sai? How will Sasuke react? Will Sakura find out about them? And what is going to happen with Sasuke and Naruto? Review and find out!**

**OH! And go read my beta's story! It's name is 'home', and you can find it on raeru's name! =) NOW GO READ IT! **


	13. Double Uchihas Equals Double Headaches

Hola! I was going to write another one-shot, but I figured I'd be nice and get rid of that cliffhanger for you guys. And thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, it really meant a lot to me. =) So let's get rolling!

**Warning: ****Jesus girls, keep your clothes on! Yes, there will be some SasuNaru citrus in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto…but if I did, you know the world would be a better place…=P**

**Double Uchihas Equals Double Headaches**

I'm not sure how long it took for us to drive to the Suna cemetery. It was pitch dark by the time we parked. The headlights reflected off of the intricate archway that stood solemnly over the cemetery's dirt path. It was obvious that the path was too small for a car, and yet Sasuke didn't make a move to get out of his seat. He had shut the car off, leaving us in complete silence. The lights only lasted a few seconds before automatically clicking off as well. Still, even with darkness creeping into the car, Sasuke didn't make any movement. Instead, he continued to stare in front of us. I couldn't make out his expression clearly yet, and I waited for my eyes to adjust to recognize the stony appearance Sasuke was wearing. Lips pulled back in a grimace, his nose wrinkled at the bridge while his eyes remained dull. It was almost like Sasuke forgot I was even in the car.

"Do you have a flashlight in here?" Even after I spoke, it took Sasuke a few seconds to pull back from his dream-like state.

"In my emergency kit." And yet still, he made no movement to grab it.

"So…are you going to get it?"

"Hn." Not answering my question verbally, Sasuke pushed open his door and left the car. I followed quickly, watching the silent boy pop his trunk. I heard the alarm lock after I shut my door, and a second later a flash of light blinded me. Quickly I covered my eyes with my hands, peeking through my fingers to try and glare at Sasuke.

"A little warning would have been nice!" I hissed out quietly, though I wasn't sure why. We were the only two people who went to a cemetery in the middle of the night anyways. Hell, we'd be lucky if we didn't get arrested by some cop for being out here so late. Then again, most everyone knew who Sasuke's parents were, especially in Suna. It was the only reason I didn't stay in the car. "So how far are...they?"

"Just keep quiet and follow me." He brushed past me while he walked toward the rusted gateway, leaving me in the dark. There was no hesitation in my mind before following the only source of light I had. I stayed close to his side while we moved, getting several chills from being in a graveyard so late at night. Seeing way too many horror movies to feel comfortable with the creepy scenery, I tried to focus on the lighted path in front of us. The walk was shrouded in silence, an occasional scuff of our shoes against the pavement echoing through the cold air. If Sasuke was uneasy, he hid it way too well.

"Do you come here often?" Not liking the hollow silence between us, I spoke. At first, I thought he wouldn't respond or would just grunt some muddled answer. Still, Sasuke never ceased to surprise me.

"No." The way he answered made my stomach ache in a way I knew way too well throughout the night. "I don't."

"When was the last time you came here?" There was a long pause between us, and I wondered if I had pressed too hard. I nearly jumped out of my shoes when he grabbed my wrist, pulling me off of the path.

"They're over here." Intentionally or not, he avoided my question. I didn't ask again, but focused on the warm touch while he guided me along the invisible path. I couldn't remember how to get out even if I wanted to. Sasuke turned and twisted through the graveyard like a maze, slowing in his strides before he completely stopped. Hesitating for only a second, I took a deep breath before moving to stand next to him. Glancing forwards, I noticed two things. One was the fact I could clearly see the outline of two identical headstones in front of us. The second was that we were at least twenty feet away from them.

"Shouldn't we uh…get closer? That is them, right?" At his curt nod, I tried to walk closer to the stones, but I stumbled a bit when Sasuke's grip released any contact with me. I recovered quickly, blinking once before turning to look back at him. He hadn't moved from his spot, and seemed in no hurry to follow me. "Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Aren't you going to come closer with me? I mean, they're your parents."

"I know that," he replied, as if his behavior wasn't strange. I sighed and waited for him to come closer to me, feeling less and less comfortable by every second that went by. It was hard enough to be inside of a graveyard in the middle of the night after attending my own parent's memorial service. But now, standing in-between Sasuke and his own parent's burial site, I wanted to just leave. And I would have, if I could remember where the hell we came from. I took a step closer to Sasuke to pull him forwards, but he was quick to take a step away. As if the step back was not intentional, Sasuke swiftly reclaimed his spot.

"Why aren't you coming with me? Actually, why are you backing away? This was your idea." And really, this was 100% his demand. I only came because he told me to. But he was crazy if he thought I was going to go any closer on my own.

"I wasn't backing away."

"Then come on!"

"Don't raise your voice here." I was going to do a lot more than that if he didn't stop acting so strange. I glanced around the area, questioning if somehow this whole thing was a prank that Sasuke had set up. But I knew that even Sasuke had his limits, and bringing me here after tonight was way beyond crossing the line for both of us.

"Why won't you come closer?" Sasuke hated to be told what to do, so naturally he would rebel when I yelled at him. This time, I asked instead of demanded. Despite the impatient side of me that wanted to try and yank him forwards again, I stayed still. He probably would have avoided me again if I had. And it took a while for him to answer my question as directly as he could.

"The last time I came here, I was with Itachi." I struggled to understand what he was saying for a moment. It shouldn't have stunned me as much as it had. He had erased any trace of them from his house, locking their bedroom doors and taking down all of their pictures. He locked up their albums and memories in a drawer at the bottom of his bureau where he wouldn't have to look at them. Coming to Suna to stare at their graves would be the hardest reminder of all. But…it had been five years since Sasuke had last stepped foot in this graveyard, and yet he remembered the path like he just travelled it yesterday. Even if he had refused to come down this path for so many years, it was engraved into his head like a bad memory.

"Then…why are we here now?" I asked slowly, not understanding why he had a sudden change of heart. Slowly he stuffed his hand into his pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper and looking down at it.

"It was one of Kakashi's demands. I had the option of going alone or…" So Sasuke had the same options as me. No wonder he had reacted so strongly to the message. As if trying to hold back from saying anything else, Sasuke pressed his lips tightly together. The defense quickly crumbled. "I never wanted to come back here without my brother."

"Why not?"

"Because it'd enforce my isolation." He tried to hide the broken tone of his voice with complicated wording. There was no way Sasuke could ever just admit that he would feel alone. Once Itachi left, who else did he have? Well, until me of course. And without struggle or much thought, something clicked in my head. Kakashi had told us that the purpose of each of these tasks would explain themselves to us without the pervert's help. At first, I didn't really pay attention to what he was saying. But now, watching Sasuke quietly stare past me to look at the gravestones, I knew why Kakashi had brought us here.

Sasuke needed to know that he wasn't alone anymore. Kakashi wanted Sasuke to realize that I was here _willingly. _And it wasn't because of his Uchiha name, his looks, or even his popularity. In fact, those were the things that had me hate Sasuke in the first place. If those were the reasons I wanted to be near him, I wouldn't have let him drag me out into the middle of a graveyard that had nothing to do with me or my life. But I did. I was here because I wanted to be with Sasuke. It was that simple, and yet it was something that I wasn't sure Sasuke had accepted. So many times I had told him I wouldn't let him be alone anymore. But standing in front of him now, I wondered just how many others had said the same exact thing to him. No wonder Sasuke never spoke after I continuously claimed to stay with him. He probably had forgotten how to believe in people.

"You don't have to do this alone." This time, I didn't give him time to back away when I snapped forwards, securing a grip onto his shoulders and staring up at him. I knew that he didn't want to listen to me, that his mind was already putting up a roadblock inside of his head. I shook his shoulders hard, trying to crumble the barricade. "I'm here."

"I see you, moron." He was taking the easy way out. Sasuke wasn't stupid, we both knew it. And I wasn't stupid enough to let him ignore it.

"You know what I mean!" We both glared, and I refused to look away. Being smart had nothing to do with being stubborn, and I was just as good at standing my ground as Sasuke was. Dominant and submissive played no part in this, and I made sure to prove it by tightening my hold on his shoulders and thinning my glare. "Just, for once, listen to me."

"Hn." It wasn't so much his grunt of a response that made me let go of him. The slow unwinding of his tense shoulders followed by a quiet side-glance made it easy to relax. Silently I dropped my hands back to my side and followed his slow lead again when he walked toward the headstones. In respect we knelt, and I finally was able to read the writing of the two gravestones. To the left was his father, the right his mother. True to the Uchiha nature, the black marble was crafted eloquently and the gold writing was appealing to anyone who came across it. I shifted slightly, peeking at Sasuke from the corner of my eyes. He had fallen into a solemn silence again, with an almost unreadable insecurity in his features. It had been years since he had came here. To find the right words was hard, especially if you spoke as little as Sasuke did.

"Hello." So I started it off for him. I turned my attention back onto the two graves again, bowing my head slightly before speaking. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though I think I met you sometime before. I'm Uzumaki Naruto; you may just know me as Minato and Kushina's son. I know that you, Fugaku, worked with my father a while ago. I actually can't remember either of you, because something strange happened with my memories when I was a kid. But from the pictures that I saw, I could tell you and my father were close. Working together for that long probably does that to people.

"I'm pretty close with your son Sasuke now. He's a jerk sometimes but…well; I've learned to deal with him. For a while, we really hated to each other. And let me tell you, your son hits pretty hard when he gets angry. You don't gotta worry about him getting in trouble, because most people are afraid of him. Not me really, I can take him on any day of the week! But now, we don't really fight. Physically anyways, since we got in trouble. But that's a story for another day!" I took a deep breath, waiting to see if Sasuke was ready to interfere yet. So when he only balled his hands onto his thighs, I exhaled and continued.

"I just…want you to know something. You and my father kept each other as safe as you could throughout the years you worked together. And now, I want you to know that I intend to follow in my father's footsteps. I'll try to keep Sasuke as safe as I can. Because…well…he means something to me now. It's almost like…how do I put it…somehow, we fit pretty friggen well. It must just be an Uchiha-Uzumaki thing, ya know? And you and dad got your guys, so you probably know better than me.

"Me and Sasuke aren't chasing drug lords or helping keep the peace. I probably create more problems than I solve. Half of them are because of Sasuke. But, I do intend to do one thing right. I know that you never intended to leave Sasuke or Itachi alone in this world. If you had a choice, both you and your wife would have loved nothing more than seeing your sons grow up. But since someone took that option from you, I want to promise you both something." I looked over at Sasuke slowly, meeting his dark gaze with ease. The flashlight cut across his face, curving along his jaw and up the side of his cheek. I gave a natural Uzumaki grin, trying to prove how genuine my words were. "As long as I'm around, I'll keep the teme company. You can rest easy now, because I'm here. And even if Sasuke doesn't want to accept that yet, I won't be leaving anytime soon. Sasuke asked me to come with him tonight, just like I…I wanna ask him to come with me to my house tomorrow. I don't want to be alone anymore either."

I didn't receive a verbal nod from either party. But I still relaxed when Sasuke faintly nodded his head, giving me reassurance about tomorrow. I moved to speak again, but quickly sealed my lips when Sasuke turned his attention back to his parents' graves.

"Naruto talks entirely too much." It wasn't exactly what I expected him to start with. But insulting me was something he was comfortable with, and it made talking easier for the normally quiet guy. "He's loud and stupid. Quite frankly, he reminds me of the way you used to speak of Minato." So Sasuke did remember my father. I silently made a note to myself to talk to him later about it. "He's overly dramatic, and too passionate about frivolous things. As he's stated, he never leaves me alone. Like a parasite, he is impossible to shake. I'm sure you would enjoy him greatly, mother. You always did say that I needed to find someone talkative to counteract my lack of speaking.

"I…" A long silence fell around us as Sasuke seemed to struggle for words. I didn't speak, because I knew he had more he needed to say. It wasn't easy for Sasuke to talk as long as he had, and I knew that. I barely brushed my fingers against the side of his fist before he pushed forward. "I know that my lack of visiting is not acceptable. For that I apologize to you both. I have a feeling from Naruto's earlier babbling, he will not let this be the last visit. And I don't…want it to be. But coming here reminds me that you will not be returning home. Despite…what you may think, I'm…still not positive I'm ready to…"

"Sasuke?" I didn't know what I expected to find when I looked back up at him. The minute waver in his voice should have given away the fact that the increase of blinking wasn't normal. I stared in silence while he refused to look down at me. Later I realized it was his attempt to keep his tears at bay. Instead, he breathed heavily through his mouth and stared at his father's grave. But the flashlight worked in my favor again, and reflected the buildup of water in his eyes. I stared, unsure of what to say. It was only a few hours ago that Sasuke had told me to let go. But despite his advice, he couldn't do it himself. And again, it felt like Sasuke was calling himself weak. Why couldn't he cry? Why _wouldn't _he?

Five minutes passed before Sasuke managed to unknowingly answer my question.

"My father never cried."

"Never?"

"Did yours?" I blinked slowly when he glanced over at me, seeming much easier to read than before. His face was relaxed and oddly exposed in a way I was sure he wasn't aware of.

"Uh…yeah, sometimes. It wasn't like he tried to or nothing…he just was open. He didn't really care what other people thought of him, as far as I know." And it was where I probably learned to be so relaxed with my emotions. I moved closer to him when he quietly scoffed.

"Itachi didn't cry either." Which meant Sasuke could never cry. His idol from childhood never cried, which still seemed to affect Sasuke as a teenager. The emotional stuffiness of his family conditioned him to keep his emotions silent. No wonder he had such a hard time expressing himself. Seventeen years of consistent thinking is hard to change. Adding pride into the mix made it almost impossible.

"So then…why do you think it's the 'stronger' way to go? That doesn't make sense."

"I don't need to explain myself to you." The response came quickly, and I realized that Sasuke had reached his emotional limit of the day. I struggled, but eventually decided to drop the subject when a cold breeze reminded me of how late it was getting.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"…Yeah." He nodded once before pushing himself to his feet, brushing off the grass-stained pants while mumbling his quiet words of parting. We left as quietly as we came, and stayed that way throughout the car ride. Occasionally I would debate flipping on the radio, but decided against it. Tonight was not a night for music. Instead, I tried to think about the tasks still remaining. It was past midnight, reminding me I only had a few days to finish both of my tasks. Sasuke had already agreed to come with me back to my house, which meant I'd be halfway done by tomorrow.

But the more I thought about Itachi, the more I felt divided on the situation. One side of me was terrified to talk to him. Sasuke had claimed that he not only tried to kill himself, but Sasuke as well. The act itself screamed insanity. The other problem was that I wasn't allowed to tell Sasuke where I was going. How I was going to get away from him without him demanding he followed I wasn't sure. I didn't really like the idea of lying to Sasuke about visiting his homicidal brother either. But Kakashi had said he didn't intend to put us in any trouble. And the curiosity of meeting Itachi was nipping at the back of my mind. He was the only one who would be willing and able to explain what had really went on all of those years back. Without Sasuke being there, there would be no censoring. I would get the simple facts that I had been wondering about for over a week.

Curiosity convinced me to leave Sasuke's warmth at seven on a Saturday morning and dress to meet with a maniac. Of course, I left that part out on the bullshit note I wrote to Sasuke explaining why Kiba needed me to go over to his house so early. Kakashi had conveniently written the directions on the back of the note he gave me Wednesday, which almost got me killed. Twice. Despite the _minor _setbacks, I managed to make it into Suna in one piece. The sun was up, but barely giving any warmth during the January day. I yanked my sweatshirt closer to me while staring up at the brick building in front of me. The ominous look was only enhanced by the black metal fence that wrapped around the front of it. I wasn't sure if it was to keep the inmates in, or to keep us out.

"Damn this place is creepy." I moved through the lobby doors, slightly surprised that it didn't look as scary inside as it did outside. Even the nurses at the front desk seemed friendly when I asked for the older Uchiha.

"I'm sorry, but the patients are outside for their morning exercises. If you want to wait a little while, I'll bring you to his room once they return. You can fill out your visitor information and get checked for prohibited objects while you wait." I nodded, because there was no way I could turn back now. Filling the information out was much easier to deal with than having one of the workers pat me down for weapons. For a minute, I felt like I was going into jail instead of a mental hospital.

The waiting room was quiet, and I continued to shift while I looked at the clock. Really, I was only there for ten minutes. Still, it felt like someone decided to freeze time and forgot to mention it to me. The nurses walked past me several times, cleaning or preparing for the patients' return. I'd send each a nervous grin when they'd look over, which they'd return before continuing their work.

When the receptionist finally told me to follow her, I came to an unpleasant realization. I had no idea what I was going to say to him. The entire time that I was waiting, I hadn't thought of what to ask. Moving through white hallways that reminded me eerily of Sasuke's house, I tried to make up something quick. But the common 'what's your favorite color' wasn't exactly going to cut it today. There were things that I wanted to ask, like the trials and why he wanted to kill Sasuke. Questions like those were easy to think of, and impossible to word. I could only speculate from photos what Itachi was like. Sasuke didn't talk about Itachi in detail. How was I supposed to know what words would set him off? The last thing I wanted to do was ignite his insanity.

"This is Uchiha Itachi's room." But if the nurses felt comfortable enough to let me into his room without hesitation, then he couldn't be too unstable. Like everything else in the bland hospital, the room was white. Seriously, why did people like that color so much? Did they think blue or red were going to make the patients go even crazier? I was brought back from my pointless rambling when the nurse spoke again. The only difference was, it wasn't directed to me. "Mr. Uchiha, you have a visitor."

"Thank you." Apparently, Sasuke wasn't the only quiet one in his family. Sitting with poise and superiority on the bed, Itachi sent a chill down my spine. It then split into several small shivers when he lifted his head to draw his dark gaze up to my stare. Instinctively I held my breath, as if somehow I expected him to attack. He stared silently at me for several seconds, and I could hear my heartbeat in my eardrums. But suddenly, it stilled completely when he spoke. "Kakashi informed me of your arrival."

"H-He did?" Damnit. Despite trying to mentally pump myself while walking into the room, I still stuttered. It must have been an Uchiha effect.

"You are Naruto, am I right?" Choosing to answer in silence (for once), I nodded. He held an even more unreadable look than Sasuke before languidly moving his gaze back toward the book on his lap. I couldn't see the title, but I knew it was thicker than all of the books I'd ever read put together. "You're here because of my brother."

"Uh…yeah, I guess so," I mumbled, slowly running my fingers through my hair to scratch the back of my head. He sure didn't waste time getting to the center of our conversation, did he? Unlike the other Uchiha I knew, Itachi didn't seem to mind talking about his brother. Then again, he wasn't the one who had almost been killed by said relative. Focusing on why I was here, I moved to the chair next to the bed before I spoke again. "Kakashi told me you're the only one who can tell me what happened five years ago. I've tried talking to Sasuke, but he just…he won't talk about it."

"I'm not surprised." The murmur was quiet, which left me unprepared for the slap of the book closing. I jumped in my seat, but held back my embarrassing squeak when he looked over to me. "How is Sasuke?"

"He's alive." Alright, maybe not the best thing to say in these circumstances. If he was bothered by the comment he didn't show it, giving me time to quickly recover. "He's doing fine. A pain in my ass, but he's learning to be human again."

"Kakashi tells me that you've caught my brother's interest." The casual way he said it made me flush much more than needed. Being "involved" with Sasuke was embarrassing enough; talking to his older brother about it was worse. I mentally reminded myself to kill Kakashi—this was what, the third time I put him on my hit list?—while I stumbled through a response.

"W-well…I mean…it's that pervert's fault! Making us get all close and stuff…forcing us is more like it!"

"Sasuke doesn't allow anyone to force him into something unpleasant for him." Despite the calm tone he used, it worked better than any glare or hiss possible. I could feel my body sit up straighter just from the slight narrowing of his eyes. I let out a quiet breath of relief when he directed his gaze toward the window. "But you didn't come to discuss your relationship with my brother, Naruto-kun."

"No, not really."

"You want to know about Sasuke's custody." I swallowed slowly when I felt any sense of moisture in my throat disappear. Despite my gnawing curiosity, I hesitated. Did I really want to know? I knew that somehow, the last part of information was going to complete the blurry puzzle in my head. I was staring at the end of my confusion, and the beginning of something I wasn't sure I wanted to start. Sasuke didn't tell me for a reason. But Kakashi wouldn't have sent me here unless he wanted me to know everything. I was standing in front of a fork in the road.

"I…want to know why…you wanted to kill Sasuke." So, I opted for stalling. Instead of going for the straight kill –no pun intended—, I wanted to understand everything else that had happened. If Itachi was too crazy, then I could use that as an excuse to dismiss his credibility and forget about the last piece. If Itachi had a logical reason for killing Sasuke, I could still say he's too crazy to believe. It was a perfect plan to keep myself from making my own decision.

"I didn't." Up until the point where Itachi spoke.

"Eh?"

"I never intended to kill my brother." Alright, so he was crazy enough to forget his own past. That was a good enough reason for me to forget about the entire interview and leave. But he didn't give me the chance. "Sasuke was an extremely intelligent child. However, he was just that. A child. All that was needed was an empty bottle of pills next to his drink and false accusations from the prosecutors in order for his mind to deduct I tried to take his life. For a twelve year old mind, there is no analysis of motive or testing. There is only testimony. My brother heard the case, and let it create his opinions from there."

"I don't…understand. Not that that's anything different from normal, but this really has me all messed up. I thought you wanted custody of Sasuke?" That seemed to bother him a lot, because his impassive face grimaced. Still, it only flashed before reverting back to his stoic expression.

"I did not want Orochimaru to have custody over my brother. Sasuke and I inherited money from my parents' estate. I got half to watch over, and Sasuke got half, which would be controlled by Sasuke's guardian. It was meant for his schooling and personal needs. The guardian would not be permitted any money unless Sasuke said so."

"And…wait, so you were afraid that if Orochimaru got it, then he'd somehow convince Sasuke to give him the money?" Slowly, some of the fuzzy lines started to clear. Too far to worry about the consequences of knowing, I dove deeper into the water. "But then you got the news about being separated from Sasuke."

"It was not a plausible option."

"So then…you...made a plan to fake murdering Sasuke?"

"Ah, I see. So this is what Kakashi left out." I didn't like the way his eyes darkened when he said that.

"What…do you mean?"

"I meant that there is more to my plan than a simple staged crime scene. I wouldn't have acted like such unless I had set plans for what was to happen afterwards. It was a way to leave Sasuke's life in hands that I considered competent and selfless."

"….Right." Somehow, Itachi found humor in my confused stare. I was slightly surprised at the low laugh that slipped past his lips. Sasuke never laughed. Occasionally he'd scoff or snort, but laughing or even chuckling was out of the question. Itachi didn't giggle of become overcome by his laughing. But still, the few seconds of muffled enjoyment still knocked me off my feet.

"Kakashi didn't lie when he implied your lack of comprehension." I felt my body twitch at the emotionless reply.

"That stupid bastard…when I get my hands on him…" Imagining Kakashi's neck in front of me, I flexed my hands for a few seconds and pretended to squeeze the air. Satisfied with my air choke, I turned my attention back to the older boy. "So what the hell did Kakashi hide? I already know he was you and Sasuke's therapist."

"He was, yes. Throughout the trials, he was the only man that I trusted. Not only with my own well being, but with my brother's as well." Weird. The way Itachi said it, it almost sounded like Kakashi was Sasuke's guardian or something. "Though not as well off as Sasuke and myself, I knew that Kakashi did not have a reason to steal my brother's money. He seemed content with his life, unlike most of the miserable people in this world. He partook in several testimonies and interviews on my behalf, and helped my brother start to heal from my parents' deaths. He proved to be a very good choice given the circumstances I was allowed."

"Whoa! Hold on a second! You're acting like Kakashi is…is Sasuke's guardian or something." The only reason I said it out loud was to make Itachi dismiss my racing thoughts. So when he completely ignored my nervous laugh, it didn't help the situation.

"The only issue was that Kakashi did not believe he would be a good guardian."

"Well duh! He wouldn't be!" I said quickly, as if somehow my opinion would change what happened in the past.

"So, in order for him to take responsibility of Sasuke, I outsmarted him." It hit me like a ton of bricks. For a moment I couldn't remember how to breathe when the final piece of information finally slid into place. In a way, it made perfect sense. Kakashi didn't break into Sasuke's house; he had his own keys. The cell phone call was so easily made because Sasuke probably had Kakashi's number memorized by now. And even though Sasuke had known Kakashi when he was little, I never realized how little he was back then. He was able to read Kakashi not because he had once been a patient. It was because he saw Kakashi every day. All of the small pieces didn't mean anything on their own. But connecting them into the story of Sasuke's past suddenly shed light onto how obvious the clues were to someone with the right point of view.

"Tricked?" I fell back into my chair as if the question had sucked all of the energy out of my body.

"Orochimaru was a very persuasive man. Both Kakashi and I knew that Sasuke would not benefit in being under Orochimaru's care. Kakashi made a promise with me. I informed him that if something was to happen to me, Orochimaru would be able to take custody of Sasuke. Despite his lack of interest in becoming a guardian, he didn't want to see that happen. So, unbeknownst to my plan, he promised that he would find a suitable guardian for Sasuke.

"Once I was certain Kakashi would keep his word, I set my plan into effect. I planted the bottle on the counter, and proceeded into my room. Once I heard Sasuke's frantic call, I inflicted the minor wounds onto my inner wrists." He lifted his wrist, which I expected to be covered in scars. But the skin was not marred or damaged in any way. Confused, I looked up at him and waited for him to explain. "I intentionally avoided any veins or vital areas. I also made sure to cut shallowly along the skin. Blood travels quickly and can make a scene through something miniscule like a cut. Either way, it was enough for Orochimaru to claim I was insane. The courts favored him, as I planned, and I was sent here.

"In doing so, he forced Kakashi's promise into effect. However, it wasn't how Kakashi had planned it. He thought that the trials would continue for a while longer, giving him time to look. Under such short notice, he was unable to find someone who was willing to take Sasuke. He wasn't able to simply forget about our deal, or leave Sasuke in Orochimaru's care. His medical practice, as well as his human conscious, wouldn't allow it. The last piece of my plan went into effect when Kakashi offered to take Sasuke. Kakashi not only knew Sasuke better, but he was a well educated, intelligent therapist. Since there was a willing, eligible guardian available, Orochimaru did not have an edge anymore. They went through the courts again, with a different judge. Barely a month after my alleged suicide attempt, Sasuke was under Kakashi's roof while Orochimaru continued to try and find ways to get at my brother and his fortune. He has yet to succeed, and my brother turns 18 in July. By then, the guardian will have no power over his money."

"You…" I stared in shock, and I knew it read easily on my face. My mouth was open, and my eyes must have been wider than saucers. "You pretended to be _insane_?"

"Orochimaru made it simple for me."

"That's totally impossible! If you weren't insane, why do they keep you here? You should have been gone years ago if that was the case. Just tell them that you're not crazy, have them so some weird tests or whatever on your mind, and you'll be out of here!"

"And to where would I go?" That shut me up quickly. I winced when a knowing look seeped into Itachi's features. "My parents are deceased. My brother believes that I attempted to kill him. I have been in this facility for five years, and not once has my brother visited. I would have no job, nor a college degree to find one with. The outside world has changed and evolved without me. It does not take a genius to know where I belong."

"So that's…that's it?" I whispered slowly, staring at him. "You're just going to live here for the rest of your life? Even though five years have passed, and you've missed out on so much of your life?"

"You're repeating the obvious." It was how passive he was that made my hands fist against my thighs.

"You know what? I may be the stupid one in this room, but you're the real idiot." Itachi wasn't as used to my outbursts as Sasuke. I could almost see the surprise in his gaze as I knocked the chair over from the speed I used to stand up. I was too angry at him to care that I looked more like the crazy patient than he did. "You've let five years go by while you sat here and read books! While your brother struggled to make something of himself on his own, you just pretended none of your past existed and hid here. You think it's pointless to come back because your brother may not talk to you at first? Try coming back when you think your only relative, your brother, you god damn _idol _tried to kill you! Maybe I can't think myself out of a paper bag, but at least I don't give up on people who are important to me just because I'm scared of what will happen.

"You Uchihas are all alike. You act smug and…and…and _confident _of yourselves while inside you're freaking out just like the rest of us. You're all too god damn prideful to ever admit your scared or hurt or sad. You make up shit to get away from your emotions! You lock yourselves in mental institutions, or you mute yourself as much as humanly possible. You risked your life for him, but you won't talk to him because you're not sure if he'll forgive you for what you thought you had to do? He's your brother! The one you've watched over all your life. Even from here you've got Kakashi making sure he doesn't get into any trouble. But instead of telling him what you did, instead of just…just fucking _talking _to him, you'd rather stay in here and die?"

"My choices in life do not concern you." Nothing. There was no emotion in his voice, eyes, expression or body. He sat there, looking to me like I had just read the back of a cereal box instead of showing him how cowardly he was being.

"God damnit!" If it was my own house, I would have punched the wall. Instead, I settled for storming over to the door and throwing it open. I stood in the doorway, knowing that I couldn't just leave it like that. It took a few minutes for the anger and frustration to pass through me, finally unwinding my body. And quietly, without my permission, a chuckle rumbled through my chest. "You two are so much alike, it's like seeing double. You try to take the world on by yourselves. And yet, I know...I know Sasuke still misses you. And I know you miss him. If one of you could just get that through your pride and go to each other, it wouldn't have to be like that. You could be together again, like family is supposed to be. Like _brothers. _Your lives aren't great, and you were both robbed of important parts of your lives. But you have the power to make some of it right again. It's your fault if you don't make this work."

I know I should have waited to hear what his response would have been. Maybe he would agree and understand how much he truly wanted to be a part of Sasuke's life again. Then again, he could have just decided to make his stay in the institution real and tried to kill me. I was betting on the later by the time I had peeled out of the parking lot. I clenched my hands onto the steering wheel as I glanced back at the hospital through my rear view mirror, trying to keep my thoughts from overwhelming me. The last thing I needed to do was lose my mind.

But it was hard. Really _really _hard. I wasn't really sure how I felt about Itachi and Sasuke. In a way, I was angry. The two were so stubborn; it was driving me up a wall. Sasuke could fix things by going to the hospital and just talking to Itachi. Itachi had the power to release himself from the institution and drive to meet Sasuke. And yet, neither one could get through their own insecurities to see each other. Even if I talked to Sasuke about what Itachi had explained to me (which I couldn't, thanks to Kakashi's damn rules), I doubted he would do anything. Their silence would continue for as long as they were alive.

And that, made me feel sad for them. I knew Sasuke still thought of Itachi. He couldn't cry because of him. He never went back to the graveyard because Itachi wasn't there with him. Despite how much he claimed to hate him, none of the pictures of Itachi in Sasuke's photo album were ripped or destroyed. Itachi wasn't any better. The first thing he wanted to know was how Sasuke was doing. He made sure to know about Sasuke's personal life from Kakashi. And instead of risking the chance of severing the last good memories of Sasuke by talking to him again, Itachi continued to play the crazy man. The only one who still believed him was Sasuke. Hell, even the nurses seemed to realize how incredibly sane Itachi was.

I slipped away from my somber thoughts when I felt my phone vibrate against my hip. Stopping at a red light on the outskirts of Konoha, I squirmed my hand into my jean's pocket before I flipped it open to see Sasuke's number. Or, at least that's what it was titled.

"How the hell did you get my number?" There was a moment of silence before I heard an all too familiar scoff.

"Where are you?"

"I asked first!"

"I put it in there when I took your phone last week." I growled and pressed hard on the gas pedal when the light turned green.

"I said I was with Kiba in the note."

"You are not." He knew what I was going to say before I even asked how he knew. "Hinata and her loyal pet came over to give you homemade chocolate. An attempt to make you feel better, I'm assuming."

"…Uh…" Damnit. Now what I was supposed to say? I thought about making up another lie, but the name 'Kiba' was not popular enough to try and pretend there were two of them. Plus, I was pretty sure I used dog-breath in the note. In the end, I knew he wouldn't buy it. "Look, it's not like I want to keep this from you or anything, but its Kakashi's orders. I'm not allowed to tell you where I went."

"Hn." I rolled my eyes as I moved through the streets of Konoha, knowing Sasuke was not happy with the idea of secrets being held from him. I toyed with the idea of Sasuke realizing that half of his life was built on a secret, but I wasn't able to talk on the phone while day-dreaming and driving. "Fine. Do you intend to still return to your house today?"

"I need to get clothes sooner or later." And in truth, I was sick of wearing Sasuke's stuff. I needed a good doze of color and fast.

"Then meet me there." And just like that, the line went dead. The stupid prick actually hung up on me! Not even a goodbye or nothing. I was starting to wonder if the jerk gene rang through the Uchiha blood line.

The drive to my house was short. I could already see Sasuke's mustang in my driveway, like it somehow belonged in that parking spot. Driving up next to him, I didn't speak until both of us were out of the car.

"You friggen hung up on me!" He rolled his eyes while leaning against his car.

"Stop complaining, moron." And now he was insulting me. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. And I was about to tell him that until he moved his gaze up to the house. "You ready?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here." I didn't give myself time to think about all of the reasons I shouldn't go into the house as I pushed my feet forwards. I focused on the soft footsteps following me instead of how close I was getting to my house. I finally reached the door, staring at it for a few seconds before I shook my head and pulled out my house key. I tried to fit the key into the door, and frowned when I couldn't get it to work. I tried again, but the key avoided the hole like the plague. By the fourth time, I could feel my confusion mixing with slight fear. Did they change the locks? Could I not even get back into my house? Was Kakashi trying to say to give up on my old life or something?

"Stop." I felt a hand clasp over mine, followed by Sasuke's chest pressed against my back. Silently he led my hand back to the door, easily slipping the key in and unlocking it. I stared in amazement, trying to figure out how he managed to open it. While deciding between magic and superpowers, Sasuke spoke again. "You're shaking too much."

"H-huh?" I ignored the crack in my voice to look down at my hand, which seemed to vibrate inside of Sasuke's. "I…I am. Why am I shaking?"

"You're scared of what you'll find." He made it sound so obvious. In a way, I guess it was. I had been trying to focus on anything but going into my house so much, that I didn't even notice my own body's reactions. I could now feel my heartbeat pounding, and how clammy my hands were getting despite the cold air around us. Adding that to the strange tone my voice had taken, there was no way to deny I was afraid.

"I never get scared. Especially of…of my own house!" Like an idiot, I still tried. I shook my head, as if trying to convince myself as well as him. Flexing my hand in his, I dragged both to the door and pushed it open. Just like in every glorified horror movie, the door made a quiet squeak before revealing the darkness of the house. I couldn't see too far into my house from the way the shadows cut through it, but I wasn't going to let it scare me. Taking a deep breath, I moved into the eerily quiet house. Looking around, I could easily see that a lot of things were out of place. Photos were knocked over, and my couch was completely moved out of place. I glanced slowly to where the kitchen was, wondering if I should go see what they did in there. But Jiraiya never told me where the...'incident' happened, and I didn't want to take a chance. I knew from the crime scene photographs from Sasuke's parents' murders, I should have avoided my own parents' room. I made sure not to even glance at the door as I moved past the room. Still, my knees quivered.

"I just…need to grab some clothes real quick. It's one of my tasks, you know." Talking made it easy to forget where I was.

"To get clothes?"

"No, idiot," I said, glaring back at him. I turned back just in time to see the front of my bedroom door. I threw my hands to stop myself from smacking into it, then tried to make it seem natural by casually turning to face Sasuke. He arched an eyebrow while I leaned back on my hands, barely touching my back to the door. "To come here. I haven't been back here since last week."

"I know that." I slightly shivered, though I wasn't sure if it was from the pregnant silence that followed or the fact that Sasuke rested his arms against my door on either side of my body. I stared up at him, not liking the unreadable stare he used. For the second time that day, I felt my heartbeat erratically beating in my ears. The only difference was the Uchiha. Quickly not liking how fast I was losing my breath, I decided to break the silence.

"Why did you come with me?"

"You asked."

"You could have said no."

"I could have said a lot of things." Another quiet stare down somehow seemed proper in the current situation. Sasuke was the one who caved this time. "Why did you ask me?"

"I need a reason?"

"Yes."

"I…" Quietly I lowered my gaze, unintentionally looking over his shoulder. Mirroring my _great _luck from the past week, my eyes focused on the door to my parent's old room. It was partially shut, but I could see that things had been misplaced from their normal spots. I wasn't sure when I would be able to go in there to rearrange everything, but I knew it wouldn't be today.

"You what?" It wasn't demanding or rude. He was simply trying to sway my attention from sobering thoughts. I could tell by the way he gently nudged his forehead against mine, mirroring my efforts from the night before. It was strangely calming, despite the heat that swelled in my cheeks.

"I just wanted you to be here. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." Damn. I didn't want to admit I was scared of coming by myself. I was tired of being the only one to openly admit how I was feeling. Sasuke was a closed book, while I couldn't seem to keep my pages shut. Desperate to keep something to myself, I blurted out the first thing that came to my head as a distraction.

"Yeah well…you have some kinky fetish with doors!" We both blinked at my random exclamation.

"A fetish…" He quirked an eyebrow again, and unwillingly it had me flushed. But I was too stubborn to back down.

"Yeah, that's right! You just…always have me against doors and crap like that. Can't you just be a normal person and like beds? At least they're friggen comfortable!" Apparently, my mouth was letting anything I thought slip straight out of my mouth before my mind had time to process it.

"You're an idiot." Said idiot got pressed back against the door for a quiet kiss that somehow I knew I had asked for. You could only bring up memories like that for so long before you imply what you want. Maybe not mentally, since my head was screaming at me for willingly opening my mouth to his advances. My body, however, seemed too eager to reply with my own participating tongue. Like a flashback to last week, his hands scrambled to my hips while my legs wrapped tightly around his waist. My arms gripped at his shoulder to keep steady when his tongue pulled away from my mouth and trailed along the hollow of my throat. Frustration at the overemotional week bubbled in my body, and I could feel my hands practically bruising his shoulders from the overload. Confusion, anger, and sadness all rolled up inside of my stomach, waiting to be released. From the almost painful way Sasuke's mouth sucked against my sensitive pulse, I could tell he had some steam to get rid off as well.

I almost yelped when I felt the door behind me give way. Thanking the gods I had such a good grip on Sasuke, I glanced back to see Sasuke's hand pushing the door open while he moved both of us into the room. The room was dim from all of the blinds being shut, but Sasuke had already walked past the light switch. I had a feeling he wasn't going to stop marking my neck over something as frivolous as the lights. He dumped me on the bed, which did little good since my legs were still wrapped around his waist. He frowned from his failed plan, and narrowed his eyes when I smirked up at him.

"Didn't think that through, genius." He didn't seem to like his nickname, and I hissed when his cold hand slid underneath my shirt. I squirmed when his palm scraped my nipple, leaving me momentarily breathless.

"Lift your arms." I snapped out of my slight haze when his breath pressed against my ear, and grumbled while I helped shake myself out of my shirt. I reached to do the same to him, but he distracted me with a quick lick to my nipple. I hissed again and arched my back, groaning at the sensation of having Sasuke's mouth against me. My hands trembled on the bed, unsure of where to put them. Dry humping against the door was something completely different than this. Hesitantly I ran my fingers against his arm, which paused his ministrations. I bit back a whimper when the pleasure started to fade, but ignored it to focus on the predatory stare Sasuke was sending me.

"Wait Sasuke. I…wh-what are we doing?" Quietly he lifted his mouth from my nipple, and I shivered when the cold air brushed against it. I was surprised over how badly I wanted to press his head back onto my body.

"Even you aren't that stupid." The strange tone in his voice made my body jerk in arousal. How did Sasuke manage to get me so worked up in such a small amount of time? Even Sakura didn't get my body this awake.

"No! I mean…fuck, this is…really fast. I mean, you're worked up, and…and I'm worked up from this week. What if this is a mistake or something? What if we regret it?" I knew that deep down, I was nervous. Not because it was a guy I was feeling so strongly for. Not because of the bullshit I had just said about going too fast. I was just nervous about it being us. Me and Sasuke. For the past few weeks, we had dived into something that I felt I wasn't able to catch up with. Just when I thought I understood what we were, something changed it. My feelings continued to grow at a rate I couldn't grasp. And now, with my body underneath Sasuke, who seemed to promise something that only my cock could understand, I was still trying to figure out why he kissed me.

"Then tell me when to stop, dobe." He leaned forward to capture my mouth again, bringing forth a weak groan when he nipped my lower lip. My skin seemed extra sensitive when he dribbled his fingertips along the expanse of exposed skin. I convulsed into his touch, wanting to press harder against those fingers. Any reasoning of why I should pull back from his mouth was gone when he slid his lean body between my thighs grinding straight into my arousal. I finally did jerk back from his mouth, but the only noise that left my parted lips was a grunt after a sharp tweak of my nipple. Warm lips returned to tease its partner, tearing me between pleasure and pain. My fingers scrambled to grab at the back of his shirt, causing it to pull up his back when I fisted my hands. He didn't seem to notice, slinking down my body while planting slow kisses against my abdomen. When he reached my belly button I sucked my stomach in, which got a questioning look. I swallowed shakily, my lips parting for no reason than to keep my airway open. I could feel my legs trembling beneath him, already knowing where this path was heading. After a few seconds without complaint, Sasuke continued.

My head bounced on the mattress from the force I used when Sasuke dipped his tongue into my happy trail. Never knowing how sensitive the skin truly was, I had to force myself to stay still beneath his ministrations. My eyes were screwed shut and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to open them again. One hand now grabbed at the sheets over my head while the other still clung to the now discarded shirt. When Sasuke hand managed to sneak out of it, I wasn't sure. Hell, I didn't care. My focus was on the silence that was only disturbed by the zipper on my jeans. I incoherently groaned when his hands discarded the shoes, socks, and way too tight jeans from my body. They silently darted back up my legs, which spasm at the gentle stroking of my inner thighs. I shook my head when his mouth left an open kiss against my hipbone, the sucking going straight into my groin. When he finally pulled away with a sloppy pop, I was a panting wreck underneath him.

I nearly saw white when the overly sensitive skin of my shaft was brushed through my boxers. I felt pathetic at the cry I let out, my entire body jerking off of the bed. The touch was so soft, _too _soft, that my body was shamelessly seeking more. I felt the movement pause for a second at my noise, but it didn't take long for Sasuke to separate pleasure from pain. The pressure danced over my cock again, creating a slow stroking rhythm that had my spine nearly snapped in half. I huffed out heavy gasps of air, trying to cool my overheating body. But the stimulating strokes were only raising the temperature of my sweltering skin, starting to make my forehead sweat. Throughout the petting his mouth created havoc on my body. My eyelids felt weighed down by lead, leaving it impossible to see what part of my body his lips would touch next. He was never consistent, going from the back of my ear to my stomach and then my neck. It left me unable to prepare myself for the shocking rapture that now held my body frozen. Stopping myself from moaning was impossible.

So when skin finally met blistering hot skin underneath my boxers, I shouted. His hand was ruthless and skilled while it rolled my arousal through his fingers, coxing my body to arch higher than before. For a nanosecond I wondered how Sasuke managed to be so fucking _good _at pleasuring me. But Uchihas were nothing if not quick learners. And with a willing, loud, test subject in his hands, Sasuke became a pro extremely quick. Nimble fingers swiped over the tip of my cock, which leaked with pre-cum. By now, Sasuke's mouth seemed settled against my hipbone, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. My mouth became worthless, and I wouldn't be able to tell him to stop even if I wanted to. Hell, I couldn't even tell him to keep going.

"Hah…n-no." I couldn't stop the swelling that filled my stomach, barely teetering on the edge. I shook my head hard, as if somehow it would stop the winding inside of my stomach. But Sasuke was a perverted bastard, and flicked his wrist fast enough to have my heels dig into the mattress while I arched my hips completely off the bed. Suddenly my breathing picked up, and I was getting dizzy from how hard I was tossing my head."Cumming…cumming. C-cumming!"

"Shut up." He shocked me with a tightened stroke of his hand, sending me careening over the edge. My body thrashed as I came, my eyes finally flying open as the pleasure smashed into me. The amplified feeling of being touched by someone else sent shocks of pleasure throughout my body. My fingertips tingled with bliss while Sasuke continued to stroke me through my orgasm. It felt unreal, the intense ecstasy that ran like blood through me. Slowly my ass fell back against the bed, my body sweaty while cum rolled along either side of my thighs. My heavy breathing filled the air, and I felt too spent to lift my limbs. Slowly I moved my gaze to the ceiling, trying to refocus. By the time I had got a hold of my breathing and mind, I rolled my head to the side to watch silently as Sasuke tugged his shirt back on. He ran one hand through his hair before looking back at me, almost glaring.

"What?" What? Was that seriously the first thing that he could think of to say after that?

"Uh…" Well, I guess it was better than my attempt at words. Shaking my head, I finally mustered the strength to push myself up to sit, staring up at the guy who had just given me my first hand job. His face looked bored despite the natural blush that came with arousal. Looking down, I could clearly see that I wasn't the only one who had been affected by the situation. "Do…do you need me to—"

"No." He spit it out like acid. The glare was even more dangerous as he walked toward my bedroom door. "Get your stuff packed and meet me downstairs."

"Wa-wait! Why don't you want my help? You…you just molested me and now you're just going to pretend like you weren't affected? I can see it from here damnit!" He stayed quiet for a second, then turned sharply so I couldn't see his face anymore.

"I don't need you to repay me. I did that with no expectations but my own. A pity touch would only disgust me." And with that, he was gone. I should have been satisfied, but I wasn't. I slowly looked down at the rumpled bed sheets, feeling even more confused than before. Why didn't Sasuke want me to touch him back? What was the point in getting me off if he didn't want me anywhere near him? Was this another part of the Uchiha pride, or…was it something that was solely Sasuke? Either way, it bothered me much more than I ever thought possible.

And I was going to fix it, no matter what.

**And there you have it! The pain, the pleasure, and the surprises all wrapped into one long ass chapter! And this really took me forever. I'm not sure if I love this chapter or if I hate it…but if I tweak it anymore, you'll never get it! Sorry for being so late. I blame it on that addicting tetris…damn it takes up too much of my life! Well anyways, hope that you liked the chapter. What is Sasuke's last task? What is to happen with Sasuke and Itachi? Will Sasuke ever find out about Sai? And why wont Sasuke let Naruto touch him back? Wow…it's all about Sasuke this week! haha review and watch out for another chapter!**


	14. Kind Of Sort Of Almost Yours

Hello everyone! I hope that you all have had a nice week and read the new Naruto chapter (which you should go do if you haven't). It's a gloomy day here, and so I've been locked into my house to right. And even though Rachel isn't happy I'm writing this chapter before tattoo (which is my new two-shot and you should also go read that =P), I want to be fair to my therapy readers. Soooo I hope you enjoy!

**Oh!** And go see Star Trek! No matter how much I tried, I just kept seeing Sasuke as Spock and Naruto as Kirk! And if you think of it like that and Ahura as Sakura…a beautiful triangle is formed

**Warning:** **Terrible fluff in this chapter! I know, it's a change from…-looks back at the emo chapters- yeah…those…**

**Disclaimer: ****Really, can **_**anyone p**_**wn Naruto? Maybe Sasuke if Naruto steals his hair gel or something…**

**Kind of Sort of Almost Yours**

If there was one thing Sasuke was better at, it was silence. Especially prolonged days of silence. Two days, two _long _days passed by without one word from the bastard. I spent the rest of Saturday trying to get him to talk to me, but he avoided me like the plague. He went to sleep before me, and I woke up to an empty bed the next morning. The alarm that I thought I had set up was off, and the clock now glowed '12:32'. I frowned when I realized how long I slept into the afternoon. After getting changed, I set off on my journey to find Sasuke. I searched the entire house, using the green hallway as my focal point to keep from getting lost. Finally, when I thought I had checked everywhere, I mumbled my way into the kitchen to make breakfast.

I nearly tripped over the air when I stepped into the kitchen. I stared at the walls, which had once been white and boring. Now, the cream yellow that I had picked out splashed the kitchen with light. The tape was still along the edges tops of the walls to keep the yellow from the white ceiling, but the tarp and painting materials had been stacked neatly in the corner of the cabinets. I couldn't keep my jaw from dropping when I realized that Sasuke had painted the entire kitchen by himself. Just how early did he get up? And why didn't he ask me for help?

I wracked my brain for an answer that would make sense, but I couldn't figure out what possessed Sasuke to do that. While I made lunch, I found a note from Sasuke that claimed he was practicing for Friday's game at Neji's. Really, I knew it was to get out of the house and away from me. He knew I worked later that night. After all, he had left his note right next to the work schedule that I had gotten from Jiraiya the night before. I doubted that I'd see one strand of black hair from the teme until after work. Throughout the afternoon, and most of my work shift, I all I could think about was Sasuke's strange behavior.

In reality, I hadn't done anything wrong. Sasuke was the one who offered to give me a handjob, right? And we were…well…not enemies, so it was okay. But from the way Sasuke was acting, he made it seem like I was the one who suggested the whole thing. I had just wanted to show Sasuke that he wasn't the only one trying something new. All throughout the night, I tried to figure out what I had done to make him act so coldly to me. But even after I flipped the 'closed' sign in front of the restaurant and locked the doors, I had nothing. I sighed quietly to myself as I dropped the last of the dirty dishes into the sink, rolling my sleeves up past my elbows to wash them. When a pair of delicate hands grabbed the soapy dish from my hand, I didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"You working overtime, Ino?" I asked casually, glancing over to my blonde co-worker. She shrugged before she slid the dish into the rack.

"I just felt like something was bothering you. You were pretty quiet tonight." Not to mention I messed up three orders, and nearly lit myself on fire while I covered the cook's break. Jiraiya had already asked me if something was bothering me earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to bother him with it. Even if I wanted to, how was I supposed to tell him? I don't think explaining Sasuke giving me a one-sided handjob would really make it easy to look him in the eye ever again. I lied, saying something about school. I knew he didn't buy it, but Jiraiya didn't pry. It was one of the benefits of having such a lackadaisical guardian.

"I bet you've already guessed who it is." As her soft smile I scrunched my nose and glared down at the bubbly water. "This is starting to piss me off."

"That Sasuke keeps bothering you, or that you keep thinking about him?" _Both._ But I didn't want to admit that Sasuke was slowly taking over my mind, so I avoided the question.

"Me and Sasuke…we…well he touched me." Of course she squealed, which only helped deepen my blush. Seriously, my cheeks hardly got a rest from the past three weeks.

"You mean you let him get to second base?"

"What are we, twelve?" I hissed quietly, trying not to kill Ino. I would have to wait to get my revenge when the tables were turned. Then again, knowing Shika's motivation, I could be sixty before I got to cash in.

"I was just asking a question, Naruto. You don't have to get all embarrassed." But really, the grin on her face proved that she enjoyed my blush.

"That's not the point! What matters is that the teme has been avoiding me for two days now! I'm going to pull my hair out if he keeps up his silent treatment."

"Maybe he didn't like what he saw." I nearly slipped on the floor before recovering my composure at Ino's curious guessing.

"What?!"

"I'm kidding, relax. I'm sure it has nothing to do with your body." I sighed before draining the sink, watching the water spiral down the drain. Once it was done, I started to wash off the soap from my arms. "Have you tried talking to him? Maybe he's just embarrassed or something."

"Sasuke doesn't get embarrassed. Besides, he's making sure to avoid me. He even made plans with Neji just to get out of his own house. Every time I tried to talk to him he'd just…walk away." I didn't want to admit that it hurt more than I would have thought knowing Sasuke didn't want to be near me. My gaze closed halfway, letting the water pour over my arms. I could feel Ino's soft hand rubbing my back in sympathy.

"Well…maybe you should leave for a night." I blinked slowly before I looked up at her. She shrugged before smiling weakly. "Come stay at my house tonight. I bet that'll catch his attention."

"You think so?" She nodded enthusiastically, and I felt a grin curling my lips. "Alright, it's a date then."

"Just call me when you're on your way over. My dad's going to wanna show you his family's heirlooms again, so you better be ready to be bored out of your mind." I laughed at the roll of her eyes, showing her lack of interest in her family's antiques. Really it didn't bother me, but it embarrassed Ino to no end.

"I'll see you soon." We parted after clocking out, and I wasted no time getting home to pack stuff up for the night. Since the front door was unlocked, I knew that Sasuke was home and somewhere in the house. Part of me wanted to go find him, but I knew that there was no point. Going with the way the bastard had been acting, he would probably avoid me anyways. So quickly, I moved into his room and started to throw some of my clothes into my bag. I had just finished shoving my deodorant and toothbrush in the front of my backpack before I noticed someone standing in the doorway. Slowly, I looked up from my packing to see Sasuke quietly watching me. It felt strange to have Sasuke watching me after being so distant, and for a minute I felt like an antelope on the discovery channel. If Sasuke had a tail, I bet he'd be swishing it with a predatory intent.

I hated to admit that I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. He looked tired and sweaty, and it amazed me that he had stayed so late at Neji's practicing. From the way his pants hung unbuttoned and low along his hips, I could tell he was getting ready to shower before he noticed me. Naturally my mouth dried when thinking of Sasuke in the shower, but I didn't want to get wrapped up in my thoughts. Especially since I knew I wasn't staying here tonight.

"I'm sleeping at Ino's house." He didn't speak, but raised an eyebrow in my direction to persuade me to go further. "She asked and I said yes. So you're gonna have the house to yourself."

"Are you waiting for my permission?" I slightly gaped at the careless tone he took while moving into the room, casually picking out his sleepwear for the night.

"I-I didn't say that. I just was letting you know." He didn't even look back at me while he closed his drawer and spoke.

"Fine." And with that, he left. Not one question or act of concern came from him. There was no anger for ditching him, or even sadness that I wouldn't be here. He acted like I just told him the weather. Like really, it didn't matter at all what I did. To me, it felt like I just…didn't count. It affected me enough me more than I ever thought possible. I had to sit on the bed before my knees gave out. For a while, I just stared at the wall in front of me. I tried to explain the ache in my heart as heartburn, but I knew it wasn't true. Sasuke hurt me. Much more than any punch or kick he had physically damaged me with.

It took the sudden chiming of the clock in another room to remind me that I was supposed to have left by now. As it was, Ino probably thought I had gotten into an accident. Remembering that I left my cologne downstairs, I jogged downstairs to try and remember exactly where I last left it. Finally finding it in the living room (how it got there, I wasn't sure), I paused slightly to glance up at the kitchen again. I had been so distracted by Sasuke's weak reactions that I hadn't even remembered to ask him about the kitchen. I sighed, then yelped when something was dropped behind me. Swiveling around, I moved out of the room to see Sasuke standing behind me bag, his arms crossed and his back leaning against the doorway. His hair was wet, showing me just how long I had daydreamt. Still slightly upset by his earlier attitude, I didn't look up at him as I walked forward to snatch my bag off the ground.

"What?" I muttered, not caring about the anger I knew I was showing. Like normal, he made me wait in silence for a few moments before 'gracing' me with his answer.

"You left this upstairs." I didn't like how somehow, he made it sound like he wasn't an asshole. I didn't look at him while I threw my cologne into the front of the backpack. Finally I flung it onto my back, tilting my head to look up at him. I expected a glare or sneer, but I got neither. I hesitantly shifted my bag on my shoulders to ignore the quiet look he gave me.

"Thanks."

"Hn." A new type of silence fell around us, and I slowly coughed to try and break it while I moved to walk around him.

"I've gotta get going, Ino is—" But I didn't make it out the door. My body stilled and stiffened while my eyes flared open wide. Sasuke had shut his, focusing on the soft connection between our lips. There was no hunger or emotional baggage as Sasuke's tongue gently slid against my lower lip. But really, who was complaining? Confused by the sudden rushing of emotion inside of my stomach, I closed my eyes and willingly allowed him to deepen the kiss. One of his hands cupped the side of my neck, tenderly sliding his thumb along my pulse. This kiss was completely different from any other kiss we had shared. It had my toes curling inside of my shoes, and my fingers trembling against my sides. Finally, when Sasuke barely pulled back from my mouth, I let out a shuttering breath to try and calm my racing heart. But it only continued to skip around when I felt him press his forehead against mine, continuing to caress my neck.

"Go with Ino tonight. But…tomorrow morning, before school..." He seemed to struggled with his wording, and I nodded quickly while pressing my hands against his cheeks. Being so close to Sasuke helped me memorize his scent all over again. I would never get sick of cinnamon. I watched him through half-lidded eyes, Sasuke's features filled with concentration. His hold tightened against my neck, but it didn't hurt. It almost seemed like he tried to grip onto me to keep himself composed. Finally, he opened his eyes to mine, not pulling away from me despite how tense he had gotten. "Come back here."

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Normally, I would get irritated with the weak reasoning. I would shout and holler for a real answer. But now, breathing quietly against his lips while staring into his own heavy stare, I couldn't muster the energy to care. I nodded our heads again and closed my eyes, not sure why my stomach was flipping. Me and Sasuke had been through every emotion I could think of. Angry, happy, sad and confused were just some. And yet this feeling felt slightly…different than all that. Something stronger and more permanent. It was something I couldn't explain or remember ever feeling. And I wasn't sure if I was ready to feel whatever it was yet.

"I'll be here." He seemed satisfied with my response, because he ghosted his lips over mine before pulling back from me. I quietly watched him move away from the doorway, and we exchanged mumbled goodbyes before I found myself outside of Sasuke's front door. I looked back slowly, tightening my hand on my backpack strap when I saw the last of the hallway light disappear from the closing of the door. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that Sasuke was still watching me while I made my way to my jeep. I pulled myself up, glancing once more at Sasuke's house before driving away.

Like Ino promised, I was walked through her family's past. From swords to armor, headbands to scrolls, nothing was left for questioning. He talked about his family lineage, and how his family had been trained ninjas or something like that. I tried to focus as intently as I had the first six times I had heard the stories, but Sasuke's taste lingered inside of my mouth. I tried to place my finger on what he tasted like, but nothing seemed to fit just right. By the end of the tour, I knew one thing. Sasuke's taste should be put in bottles and sold to people. It would make millions.

"I'm really sorry about him," Ino said, opening the door to the guest room I was staying in. Her room was connected to mine by a bathroom, making it easy to 'talk if you need it' according to Ino.

"Really it's fine. Your dad is cool." I dropped my bag onto the bed, slowly looking up at her and grinning. "You're lucky to have him."

"I know." She smiled softly and leaned against the doorframe of my room, resting her head against the framing. "But you seemed like you were spacing out. Did you have a talk with Sasuke?"

"Something like that." At her curious look, I shrugged and looked around the room. "Sasuke's just being his normal teme self. Wants me to swing by the house before I go to school tomorrow, but he won't tell me why."

"You think it's something important?" I shrugged as if I hadn't asked myself that same question repeatedly over the past half hour. She watched me for a moment before she took a step back and glanced to the connecting door. "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come over."

"When do I ever hesitate to bug you?" She laughed because she knew I was right.

"Goodnight Naruto." I watched her close the door behind me, and for a minute I didn't move. I glanced around the room, which was bright with light green walls and different accessories that could keep any guest occupied for hours. It was so alive and colorful, so…unlike Sasuke's room. That should have made me happy. I had left the house to get away from Sasuke, right?

"Damn him." I shook my head, pushing myself off of my borrowed bed to get ready to sleep. Tossing my bag onto the bed, I started to pull out my body wash and shampoo. Rushing hadn't left me time to shower at Sasuke's, and I was not going to school smelling like old food. It wasn't like I needed to impress anyone, but Ino refused to let me sit at the lunch table the last time I had tried it. Muttering at the old memory, I yanked open the wider part of my bag and froze. There, slightly shaken but still most folded, was a dark blue hoodie resting on top of my other clothes. Slowly, I pulled the mysterious garment out of my bag, knowing that I hadn't packed it. I unfolded it to let it fall out in front of me, and I scowled as the hoodie seemed slightly bigger than I normally wore my clothes. In fact, it seemed more like something Sasuke would wear inste—

Sasuke. Of course it was the bastard's hoodie! Who else would have had access to my bag? And he brought it down from his room, which meant he had time to toss it in there. The thing was way too big to be Ino's, and I doubted that her dad would give me a sweatshirt in such a weird way. But Sasuke, who had always been extremely strange? Oh yeah, this wreaked Uchiha of Sasuke.

"Literally," I mumbled while I pulled the hoodie closer, already getting a smell of Sasuke. Like a drug, it made my eyes close and my body relax. How did a simple _smell _get to me like that? I got why being so close to Sasuke in bed made me tired, body heat could do that to anyone. And yeah, the hoodie seemed pretty warm. But his smell? I slowly dropped it back onto the bed and moved to grab my sleepwear, continuing to get ready for bed. I showered, changed, and checked my dental hygiene before I returned back to the dark room. I crawled onto the bed, almost immediately noticing the size of the large mattress. Still, I favored the right side of the bed, instead the middle. It seemed old habits died hard, which I realized when I turned to face her wall. The silence was comforting, but it wasn't until I dragged the hoodie to rest against me that I finally felt the darkness of sleep creeping behind my eyes. Only that bastard would assume I couldn't sleep without him.

Figures he was right.

I woke up without the help of my cell phone alarm, which surprised me. I took the extra morning time to relax, simply enjoying the rising sunlight that was starting to spread across my sheets with every passing minute. I debated doing homework until I realized I had left all of my school crap at home. Maybe it was a good thing Sasuke had cornered me last night. I paused at my own wording, instantly disliking the way my mind reminded me how little force it took me to give in. By the end of it, I was the one grabbing onto him. He always had that effect on me, which seriously bothered me. I was starting to realized that Sasuke was influencing my life way more than I wanted.

I knew I seemed eager to get back home by how early I had left Ino's house. One hour before school even opened, to be exact. She was probably going to yell at me for not saying goodbye, but I could deal with that. It was the curiosity of why Sasuke told me to come home that I couldn't. The speed I used to get across town and back to Sasuke's mansion was much higher than the limit. The only time I really stopped (and didn't do one of those very illegal roll stops) was when I got to Sasuke's gate. Seriously, that thing took a year to open. Even though I wanted to seem casual when I pushed the front door open, I knew I had practically slammed the door in my impatience. I was never the type of guy who liked locks anyways. In all those horror movies, the never kept the killers out anyways. Either they just hacked the door down, or the freak found a way to be in the room the girl ran into. It was another reason I hated scary movies.

"Idiot." Oh, right. Back to reality. I looked up at the stairs, watching Sasuke calmly walk down to stand in front of me. He looked past me to the door which still hung wide open and sucked out the heat of the house. "Did you grow up in a barn?"

"Not my fault your door sucks. If you throw mine hard enough, it bounces back and shuts itself." He stared at me with his normal 'you're such an idiot' look.

"Were you born this stupid?" See, I was getting good at reading him.

"Were you born with a stick up your ass?"

"Moron."

"Why'd you do it?" He arched an eyebrow slowly to show he had no idea what I was talking about. "The hoodie…why'd you put it in my bag?"

"Hn." That was all he said before walking away from me. "Shut the door before you come into the kitchen."

I wanted to tell him to close it himself, but my interest got the better of me again. That didn't stop me from muttering unflattering things under my breath while I shut the door and followed his lead. The only thing that halted my mouth was the array of ingredients that were resting on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Sasuke seemed bored with the situation, but I could tell by his tense shoulders that there was more to this than just a display. Taking the bait, I moved slowly to stop next to him before looking down at the several items on the island. Everything was arranged by size, which I almost expected from the perfectionist.

"What is all this?" I looked back up at him while Sasuke moved away from me. I almost thought he was going to leave me stranded in the kitchen until he paused at the archway.

"Make breakfast. Whatever you want that I'll eat." I didn't even have a chance to argue. Sasuke moved out of the room, and left me with a table full of possible breakfast ideas. I would have gone after him to give him a piece of my mind, but I didn't. The fact that Sasuke had prepared all of this, and then just left me with the assumption that I would do what he said could be seen as being cocky. But a small part of me wanted to believe that it wasn't confidence, but…trust. Sasuke had set this up before he knew I was home. He believed that I wasn't lying to him last night. And sure, it was just a meal that probably didn't mean much to me since I had made food for Sasuke a lot in the past couple weeks. But the fact that he asked me (in his own jackass way) and left without getting a positive answer made me think that he was trusting me more and more each day.

It was a while before I finished breakfast. I didn't make anything extravagant or exotic. Eggs and bacon with toast was more than enough food for the both of us. However, I made sure that what I did make wasn't sloppy. Nothing was burnt, soggy, cold, or anything less than Naruto approved. I felt myself grinning as I finished setting up the food at the table, giving myself a mental pat on the back. It felt good to cook again. Making food at the restaurant was good, but it felt better to do whatever I wanted instead of following the customer's demands.

"Damn I'm good." Whistling at my work, I turned to start putting away my ingredients. I stopped when I noticed a blob of black resting against the archway. Sasuke stood quietly, his arms crossed while he looked at me. He had been doing that a lot lately.

"Don't stare, it's impolite." But I continued anyways. Really, when did I ever care about what was proper?

"How long have you been watching me?"

"I just got here. Unlike you, I tend not to waste my time staring at other people."

"Shut up or I won't make your breakfast ever again!" He rolled his eyes before brushing past me, sitting in his normal chair as he looked at the food. I watched him like always, making sure he didn't spit out my meal. Once I was sure it was up to his standards, I finished putting everything away. I finally shut the door of the fridge, blinking once at the small drop of yellow that was smeared at the top. Sasuke must have missed it when he was cleaning up yesterday. Oh! Speaking of which… "Hey!"

"What?" He paused in cutting his eggs to look up at me. I pointed to the walls around me before speaking.

"Why the hell did you do this without me?! And in the morning of all times!" He slowly looked around the walls, as if seeing the paint for the first time. Then quietly, Sasuke returned to dissecting his breakfast.

"I felt like it."

"You _felt _like it? You hated painting the last time I checked." I finally sat across from him, knowing the food would get cold if I didn't eat soon. And nothing was grosser than soggy, cold food. I shoved a chunk of bacon into my mouth and nearly chocked when Sasuke unexpectedly answered.

"It helps me relax." We exchanged a quiet glance across the table, and I could tell it was a struggle to admit that. Apparently, the night alone changed something in Sasuke. He was finding ways to open up. They were small, and they only came out occasionally, but they were a definite improvement. It had me smiling for some reason, which quickly brought back Sasuke's annoyed scowl. "Hence why I didn't want you there."

"Bastard!" We shared insults throughout the rest of breakfast and during the ride to school. The only time we stopped was when Ino cornered me in the hall, demanding to know why I hadn't bothered to say goodbye. After a few lame excuses, I found my ever so pleasant best friend chasing me through the school and into my science room. Anko, who had always favored the girls of the school, simply pretended not to notice the maniac running around in her classroom until the bell rang. She then proceeded to write Ino a hall pass and sent her on her merry way. I ended up getting a stern look before she started to teach us about moles. And no, I don't mean the furry ones. I mean the measurements that I never quite understood.

But I would take a final full of moles over the lunch surprise that was awaiting me that Monday afternoon. It started off normally. Kiba and I had gotten into our normal daily debate about something completely 'childish' according to Neji, who normally spent the lunch time talking to Sasuke about politics and basketball plays for the next game. Ino was the bridge between us, always finding a way to mess our conversations together by the end of lunch. Being the only girl didn't matter to her.

"You're crazy if you think Optimus Prime could ever beat Megatron! I mean, look at the size difference." I scoffed at Kiba's weak point and rolled my eyes.

"Too bad he _did _beat him in the Transformer movie. And so what if he's big? The bigger they are, the bigger they fall. Megatron is just too cocky for his own good."

"He can friggen fly. All Optimus can do is drive around on the ground. It's like easy target practice for Megatron to come down and kill him."

"If it was so easy, he would have done it. But Optimus is just too smart for your stupid bad guy to win. And that's it."

"Foolish." And like normal, Neji made clear to us that our conversation was immature. Despite his distaste in our topic, I laughed and shrugged.

"Come on Neji, you know you watched transformers when you were little. And you came with us to see the movie. Who was your favorite?"

"I'm not answering that." He didn't look up at me as he quiet bit into his salad, continuing to eat.

"I bet it was one of the Decepticons! You seem like a guy who likes the evil type." I barely saw one pale eye twitch before I grinned. "I knew it. Which one? Megatron?"

"I do not have to continue with this pointless conversation." We stared at each other for a few silent seconds, Neji seeming to get more irritated by my stubbornness. Finally, the genius finally figured out I wasn't going away and sighed. "But, if you must know in order to leave me alone…it was Starscream."

"Megatron's lackey? Dude, wasn't he always sneaking around doing shady stuff?" Kiba asked. Which was completely true, since Starscream always seemed to switch between loyalty to his clan of Decepticons and his own ideas. He was lucky Megatron didn't rip his mechanical head off.

"I liked Bumblebee! He was so cute in the movie. I got so upset when he got attacked by the humans." Ino put her two cents into the conversation, sighing at the sad memory.

"Only you would get emotional over a robot movie," Kiba said, taking a swig of his milk.

"Says the one who was tearing up when Jazz died." I smirked when Kiba sent me a glare, but I didn't get time to tease him before two hands slammed down on the table in front of me. Blinking once, I looked up to see Sakura, who leaned between Neji and Kiba to stare at me.

"Naruto, is it true?" By the worried look in her eyes, I knew that something bad was about to happen. Trying to think of something I did that would have bothered her, my mind instantly went to Sasuke (who, in reality, I had done more than one thing with). I darted my gaze over to him, and was surprised to find his interest had been caught. Normally, Sasuke avoided and ignored Sakura as much as possible. Today, however, he seemed to notice the strange tone in her voice as well. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and I was pretty sure she was going to bit straight through it if I didn't answer her.

"Is…what true?"

"Have you heard what's been going around about you today?"

"Besides everything they talked about last week?" Because really, I wasn't sure there was anything else to discuss. Sure, me and Sasuke had been getting closer than before. Still, all of it was in a closed off area that nobody would have been able to see or know about without one of us telling. And by the way Ino leaned in to hear what Sakura had to say, I knew she didn't tell.

"They're saying that…Naruto, are you bisexual?" I felt my throat dry out at Sakura's question. It was so blunt, so forward, that I couldn't prepare myself for the sudden rush of panic inside of my stomach. How the hell did Sakura know about that? I mean, I told Ino and Shikamaru, but I knew that neither of them would say anything. From the corner of my eye I could see the deep scowl on Sasuke's face, showing just how affected he was by the news as well. Quickly I shot my gaze back to Sakura, making sure not to let myself linger anywhere near the bastard. This was much harder than I thought when I remembered he was sitting right next to me.

"Now where the heck did you hear that garbage? Naruto being bisexual? Let's get serious Sakura! And why do people think he even likes men?" Kiba, completely oblivious to my mental panic fest, took the question as a joke. He followed the questioning with a laugh and a roll of the eyes, showing how quickly he ignored Sakura's theory.

"I didn't think so either! But I was getting changed during gym and I heard these two girls talking about Naruto and then I…I heard them talking about this rumor going on about him…and I wanted to talk to him before it spread anymore, but I could only remember what lunch you all had so I came down as quick as I could." Two girls in a locker room? Now that didn't make sense. I was pretty sure if two girls had been spying on me and Sasuke, one of us would have realized and immediately stopped. If I had learned one thing about girls around Sasuke, it was that they couldn't seem to keep from giggling or squealing.

"And what did this rumor state?" Neji now willingly entered the conversation, deeming it much less immature than Transformers. Sakura looked over at me, and for the first time she glanced at Sasuke as well. I felt my spine tense slowly at how careful she was being. Normally, Sakura had no trouble saying what was on her mind when it came to me. I couldn't even remember all of the times she had publicly humiliated me or insulted me. But now that she was pausing, I was 99% sure I knew what people were talking about. And mentally, I cursed. Me and Sasuke were caught.

"They said Naruto was kissing Sai in their art class Friday." …Or worse. Now, there was no mistaking Sasuke's 'interest' in the conversation. His shoulders tensed, and I could practically feel the change in his mood while he continued to listen to Sakura dig my grave. "They said that Naruto came in and was talking to Ino, and then Sai came over and you two were kissing. And he said something about you being cute too! Is that true, Naruto?"

"No! Uh…I mean, yes. But not like that!" I knew I kept darting my eyes between Sakura and Sasuke, not sure which one I was directing this conversation to. Apparently, I was completely off in my assumption that it was about me and Sasuke. Sakura was probably just checking out Sasuke again! Normally I would have brushed that off as Sakura being normal, but I assumed today that it was because she figured out why Sasuke didn't seem interested in any girl's short skirts.

"What Naruto means is that he didn't kiss Sai. Naruto was asking me for art supplies, and while we were talking, Sai kissed Naruto. But it was one for a few seconds and Naruto didn't even want it!" By the end of Ino's explanation, Sasuke had already pushed up onto his feet while grabbing his books off the table. I turned to face him quickly, scrambling to think of something to make him stay. But in front of Sakura and the others, I was completely stuck. I couldn't say anything without implying one side of the rumor was true. If I tried to explain to Sasuke that it meant nothing, the others would realize that me and Sasuke had something intimate going on. If I tried to deny that the kiss meant anything, Sasuke would think I really _did _kiss Sai.

"Sasuke-kun? Where are you—" He didn't let Sakura finish before he spoke.

"I have to prepare for my presentation in English. Excuse me." He was such a liar. Sasuke had more stage presence in his pinky toe than most people had in their bodies. I knew he wasn't going to practice; he was just trying to get away from me. And after the slight amount of trust I saw him show me this morning, I would have been completely stupid not to jump up to go after him.

"Yo! Why are you getting all worked up about this? I mean, it's just some stupid rumors, right?" I glared at the table, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. By the way Kiba's voice wavered toward the end, I knew he was starting to see why nobody else was laughing. Knowing that even Kiba would eventually put the pieces together frustrated me.

"I…Damnit, I have to go find Sasuke!"

"Why?" I jerked my head up, suddenly remembering who had accidentally started this whole thing in the first place. Sakura stood on the other side of the table, staring at me in pure confusion. I tried to hide my wince when I realized she was another person I wasn't ready to tell yet.

"Sakura."

"Why do you need to go to Sasuke-kun?" She pressed, and I knew I couldn't give her the answer she wanted. Mainly because, I didn't know what that was. What I did know was that Sakura did not want me to tell her the truth, and she didn't want me to lie. "Talk to me."

"I…" Essentially, I was screwed until Ino came to the rescue.

"It's a really long story, Sakura. But if you don't leave now, Naruto, you'll never catch up to him. You know how Sasuke gets." I nodded quickly and let my eyes linger on Sakura's green stare, which for once in my life was finally focused on me. But now, I had more important things in my life than Sakura. Like, ironically, Sasuke. I hurried to grab my stuff while tossing my trash onto Kiba's tray.

"I promise I'll explain everything to you soon. Dog-breath, take my trash up for me will you? I'll see you guys later." I didn't even wait for any type of goodbyes from the group before I was running through the same exit Sasuke had taken. The hallways were deserted as I tried to think of where Sasuke would possibly go before class. I nearly tripped myself when I remembered the extra books that he was carrying from his morning classes. He'd probably want to get rid of them, right? Which meant that Sasuke would be at his locker.

"Sasuke!" He didn't seemed surprise to find me running toward his locker like a lunatic escaping prison. Calmly he shut his locker door while I moved next to him, panting to catch my breath. "Damnit, why do you have a locker on the third floor? You'd think they'd give us the first floor ones since we're seniors."

"Did you come here to debate our locker space?" I shook my head and took another gasp of breath before looking up at him.

"Look, about that whole…thing. It wasn't my fault, I promise! I know I screw things up a lot, but this time I really didn't!"

"That's hard to believe." I knew he was glaring because he was hurt. I winced slightly at the possible damage that could be done if I didn't explain myself in the next five seconds. Luckily, Sasuke made it easier for me. "This Sai. Is he the same one from Lowes?"

"Yeah, go figure. The asshole just happens to go to our school." He seemed to like that even less than I did by the narrowing of his eyes.

"Did you kiss him?"

"_He_ kissed me. What I really wanted to do was strangle him!"

"You still kissed him." I felt the nerves creeping up my spine when Sasuke took his gaze off of me to stare at the lockers. It was evident that he was pissed. What he had his so easily at the table was slowly becoming obvious by the vice grip he had on his books and the almost snarl tugging his lips back. So when he took a slight step back, I panicked.

"The only asshole I want is you, teme! Don't you get that?!" I shouted it like he was across the country. He blinked uncharacteristically and looked over to me, but didn't comment about my loudness or even what I said. He simply stared, and I felt it was a good sign to continue. I moved to stand in front of him, slightly leaning on the lockers to leave some space between us. "You're so friggen frustrating and you've got some major inner issues, I get it. But…you're not making this easy to understand. One second you're calling me an idiot, the next you've got me pinned up against something making out with me! You storm off when I want to get intimate with you, and then you storm off when I get forced into something intimate with someone else! Well, what the hell do you want?"

I watched him for a second, suddenly realizing that I didn't want to talk anymore. I didn't even want the distance I had made sure to put between us. I wanted Sasuke. And so quietly I lifted my hand, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him close enough to kiss. The rumors were already circulating, right? If they were going to talk about me kissing guys, I wanted it to be the _right _one. And by the way he pressed his hands against the lockers to lean deeper into the kiss, I could tell he didn't want me and Sai's names in the same rumor either. I lazily slid my arm around his shoulders, simply enjoying the slight thrill of being so public with Sasuke. I bit his lower lip when he pushed me hard enough to bounce head into the locker, not liking the slight pain in my skull. Still, our mouths didn't separate while the kiss started to heat up. Easily I parted my mouth to him, which I expected him to go for without hesitation. So when suddenly Sasuke pushed back from the kiss and yanked me away from the lockers, I was momentarily confused. Confused, and slightly pissed that he didn't take my offering.

"Naruto-kun." There was only one evil guy who called me that. I jerked my head up to see the worst possible person that could have walked into the hallway. Hell, a group of Sasuke fangirls would have been better than him!

"What the hell are you doing here, Sai?" I gripped tighter onto Sasuke's shoulder when I felt his muscles clench. Note to self: Sasuke had sharing issues.

"Aren't you supposed to be attending lunch, fishcake?" God damnit! I hated when he ignored my questions. He didn't seem to care about his own question as he glanced up to Sasuke before smiling. "Oh, I see you're re-acquainting yourself with your friend again. If I remember correctly, Ino called him Sasuke."

"How do you know Naruto's lunch schedule?" For someone who seemed ready to rip off Sai's head, his voice was extremely well controlled. But I felt a slight struggle in his body when Sai answered.

"Ino tells me stories about the idiot during art." Oh sure, he answers Sasuke's questions. I was surrounded by bastards.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Why did you kiss him on Friday?" Sasuke really didn't like to beat around the bush. I looked up at him, watching his eyes narrow faintly as he glared at Sai. The artist didn't seem scared or nervous to answer the question, which surprised me. Sasuke was known for scaring the crap out of anyone in the school. Then again, I didn't think Sai was playing with a full deck to begin with.

"Is that not what you do to acquaint yourselves with one another? From my observations of you and fishcake, I could only assume that it was how he greeted his friends."

"Wait, when the heck did you see me and Sasuke?"

"I was walking back home from the supermarket a week back, when I spotted you two intimately touching outside of a therapist office. When I asked Ino about the situation, she was quick to say that you two were only friends. And since you are such an important friend to Ino, I wished to establish that relationship as well. A kiss seemed very appropriate to me."

"I was yelling at you about how much I _hated _you, and you thought it'd just be okay to kiss me?!" If I wasn't holding onto Sasuke, I would have fallen over at Sai's cheerful nod. Like I said, missing some crayons from the box.

"I simply assumed you treated all of your friends that way, since you are extremely loud and obnoxious." Without thinking, I opened my mouth.

"Me and Sasuke aren't just friends!" Suddenly, I felt both pairs of eyes on me. One set was curious and completely unaware of the embarrassment I had just walked into. The other, closer gaze had an unreadable look in his gaze.

"So then, what type of relations do you have with Sasuke-kun?" Unwillingly, I felt myself flush at the innocent question. And here I thought I'd make it one day without getting embarrassed. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, and Sai couldn't help but insult me. "You do act like a fishcake with your silent flapping."

"Shut up Sai." I took a deep breath, trying to ignore my protesting mind while I answered him. Naturally, my voice sped up as I talked. "Me and Sasuke are together. Not…like friends. We're closer than that. We're what you'd call…call…_boyfriends_. It means I only want to kiss him that way, not you idiot!"

"Boyfriends?" Sai seemed to study us for a few seconds, mentally debating if the explanation was acceptable. Finally, he nodded his head and proceeded to speak. "No wonder you look so womanly. You must be the uke."

"UKE?!" I was going to kill Sai. And I would of done it right there if Sasuke didn't have such a good grip on my arm. I still struggled to get away from him while Sai laughed.

"Well, continue with your relationship. Goodbye fishcake, and remember to try and locate your brain sometime soon." And like that, Sai was gone. I stayed tense for a few seconds, waiting to see if the annoying prick came back. When no such interruption happened, I sighed and relaxed. Well, until a quiet breath curled around my ear.

"Boyfriends? Explain how I was unaware of this sudden advancement in our relationship." I shivered and tried to glare at the same time.

"Well…you don't know Sai! If I didn't say something, he'd never get it through his thick head. It was the heat of the moment; I didn't know what else to say." I grunted when once again, my back met the lockers behind me. Seriously, Sasuke had a power complex that made him press me to whatever was convenient. He was probably into bondage, the freak. I huffed at the harsh treatment while rubbing my back. Well, at least he didn't pin my wrists this time. "What the hell was that for?! I'm getting really sick of this treatment you know."

"Is that all it was? An excuse?" Just the low tone of Sasuke's voice made me fight back a blush. Damnit, when did I become so god damn girly?! I took a deep breath, trying to cool myself down before I challenged his gaze. By the way he watched me, I could tell he wanted a specific response. But I didn't know which one was right. He had been running me in circles, and I knew I was going bang my head against the wall if I answered this wrong.

"I already told you I wanted this," I muttered, making it sound more like a complaint than a reply. And when he didn't respond, I added to the slight pouting by crossing my arms and nudging his leg with my foot. "Just accept it."

"Hn." I really needed to get a word that I could whenever I didn't want to answer something. It seemed to work for Sasuke very well. He must of noticed the slight growl I produced, because he smirked and leaned close enough to speak against my frown. "We're going out."

"You're supposed to ask, bastard."

"I don't need to ask when it concerns you." That made my eye twitch.

"Oh yeah? And why do you say that?"

"Because I know you'd say yes, dobe." I gave him the opportunity to kiss me when I opened my mouth to yell at him. And there, for a sweet seven minutes until the bell rang, Sasuke 'convinced' me that saying yes wouldn't be quite so bad. I fought, of course, because nothing would be us without some type of struggle. Plus, when I squirmed just the right way, I could make an interesting noise come out of Sasuke's normally composed mouth. It would have been better if I didn't continuously vocalize Sasuke's kissing expertise. It was only afterward, when I was grumbling in English about swollen lips and pushy boyfriends, that I remembered something extremely important.

How the _hell _was I going to tell everyone else?

**See? I CAN write without adding emoness! I know, it's a shocker. So, we found out who was watching Sasuke and Naruto, we discovered why Sai kissed Naruto, Sakura is starting to figure out what's going on behind her back, and Sasuke and Naruto are officially a couple. The story is starting to come to the end! –gasps- I know, shocking. So with only a few chapters left, will Naruto be able to find out why Sasuke wouldn't let him return the favor? What unknown feelings does Naruto have for Sasuke? Are they mutual? Will Sasuke and Itachi ever talk again? How will Sakura, Kiba, Kakashi, and everyone else react to the new relationship? And what twists and turns does this evil writer have for you? Well, review and find out! Till next time =)**


	15. Pinky For Your Thoughts

Hola! Sorry that I took so long on this chapter, I really didn't mean to. Not only did I got through the first five chapters and edit things, but I have been out almost every night with my friends. I'm trying to balance life with stories, which is harder than I thought! Haha but enough about my ranting, here's that chapter you've been waiting for!

**Warning: ****The content in this chapter may be too graphic for children under the age of 18. Please be advised to turn your heads if you do not understand the mechanics of sex, or boyxboy relationships.**

**Disclaimer: ****-hides behind trashlid- I don't own Naruto….please don't hurt me for being so late! **

**A Pinky for Your Thoughts, a Punch for Your Heart**

I knew, somewhere in the back of my head, that I should of told Sakura the same day I made the promise to explain everything. Sakura had always been infatuated with Sasuke, and I was her good friend. Hell, she had called me her brother a few weeks back! But hey, having an Uchiha 'claim' you can take your mind away from practically everything else in the world. So Tuesday (or, if I wanted to give myself some slack, Wednesday) should have been the day that I sat Sakura down, and explained to her what was going on. It should have happened in the morning before school, so she had time to take it all in and accept it. Or maybe right after school, because then she'd have the entire night to think it over and talk to me again. But that never happened. So the only reason I had for not telling anyone, especially Sakura, about me and Sasuke's relationship was pretty simple.

I, Uzumaki Naruto was…nervous. Telling Sai, a perverted weirdo and only one of hundreds of kids in our school, was one thing. Admitting to several people that not only was I a bi-sexual, but that I was currently dating the heartthrob of the school was something completely different. The girls that had been crushing on him for years would either hate me or cry over their loss. By the way Kiba had reacted to the slight implication that I was gay was not helping the situation at all. Me and Kiba had been friends for a long time, and I wasn't ready to take the chance of losing that. He had been my partner in crime for a long time, and really had pulled through in times that I needed him.

I didn't even want to think about what Sakura was going to say. In the most optimistic part of my head, I was hoping that she would figure it out on her own and would find a way to accept it without any tears or sadness. The realistic part of me knew better than that. Even if Sakura made the connection in her head, her heart would deny it. Because deep down inside of her heart, Sakura believed that Sasuke would end up with her. Even after the talk in the parking lot, I knew she continued to pine after him. Sure, it wasn't as open as she used to make it, but it was still there. And it killed me to know I was going to be the reason that she got hurt.

That was why I couldn't face her at school. I ran at any sight of pink hair or green eyes. If I heard her voice, I'd hide until she was gone. I always felt tense, like somehow she was going to pop out of nowhere and corner me. It was like a sick game of cat and mouse, except the cat didn't even know she was participating and the mouse had a guilty conscience the size of a block of cheese.

"You ready to go?" But at the moment, that guilt was stored in the back of my head. Because during all of my evasive moving and attempts to hide our relationship, I forgot about one very important man that couldn't be lied to.

"Maybe he forgot it was Wednesday." I didn't have to look at Sasuke to know he was raising an eyebrow at my reply.

"Kakashi is bad with clocks, not memory. Especially when it comes to his 'patients'." Sasuke sounded just as pleased as I felt to be going to therapy. There was no doubt in my mind that Kakashi would find a way to figure out what our current relationship was, if he didn't already know. Kakashi had a way of finding things out before we even came into the office, especially when they happened at school. Back when we first started this therapy, I thought the fan club put a camera in Sasuke's boxers. Now I was starting to suspect the overly happy therapist that greeted us when we pushed into the office.

"Figures you're on time today," I muttered, dropping into my seat and crossing my arms. Like always, Sasuke sat up straight and didn't speak.

"Today is a special therapy session." Crap, he knew already? I tried to read his smile, but it was impossible to figure out what he was thinking.

"I doubt it," Sasuke said flatly, sending a scowl Kakashi's way. Seeing it as a challenge more than an observation, Kakashi 's eyes seemed to spark in mischief. And I would know, I had that same look about once a week.

"Well, we shouldn't waste time since we have a lot on our list of things. Let's start first with two tasks that I gave you. Who wants to go first?"

"I did em, if that's what you're asking."

"Good Naruto. And how did the first one go?" I tried to think back on which was first on the list, but took a guess when I couldn't remember.

"The house one, right?"

"Very good. Did you ask Sasuke to come with you?" I nodded and shifted at the memory, trying not to blush. But something must have alerted Kakashi that I was embarrassed because he continued. "Did something happen at the house?"

"No!" I shouted, way too quickly to be true. I could already feel Sasuke's glare before he turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"Nothing occurred."

"Ah, but something did occur." I didn't like the sound of that. Apparently, neither did Sasuke by the way his voice sharpened to respond.

"Excuse me?"

"You and Naruto became an official couple, am I right?" I liked that even less. My face lit up like a Christmas tree at Kakashi's innocent question while a thousand thoughts ran through my head. Kakashi seemed to pick one out of bunch to answer. "One of my patients also attends your school, and your relationship status came up. He told me at our weekly visits on Monday."

"That's not possible!" I slammed my hands down onto the armrests of the chair, shaking my head before my brain had time to shut my mouth. "The only person who knew was Sai!"

"Oh, so you've acquainted yourself with him." I nearly fell over at the statement. There was just no way in the world that the gods were that amused by my pain. But by the way Kakashi's smile never faltered told me that he wasn't lying. No wonder Sai knew it was a therapist office! I always knew that he was strange, but the therapy thing only confirmed it.

"He's your patient? You need to work a lot harder to get him back to normal before I beat the shit out of him!" At this Kakashi chuckled, which only made me growl. Of course he didn't take my threat seriously.

"Sai is a very…interesting patient. But we aren't here to talk about him. The real question is…is what Sai said true?"

"What does me and Sasuke's relationship have to do with our tasks?" Okay, dumb question. But really, I didn't want to answer him.

"Isn't that the reason you came to therapy? In order to help fix the tension between you and Sasuke? Until you boys are willing to face the new relationship that is developing, nothing else can be done." He glanced between us, and I felt like a son being giving the talk about sex. I squirmed, refused to meet his gaze, but clenched my fists in my hands to stop the anger from overwhelming the embarrassment. "Sasuke, Naruto, do either of you understand why I had you do your tasks?"

"Because you like to make our lives difficult?"

"Because you both had things that you preferred to be hidden. Things that were needed to break the tension between you both. I sent you both to talk to important people of each other's lives." I slightly tensed at the new information. Sure, I knew that I was sent to Itachi to learn about the truth behind Sasuke's past. But to find out that Sasuke had, in turn, went to see someone that knew about things I never talked about was troubling. I remember the years of middle school, and all of the depression I struggled with. I didn't like talking about it because I didn't like reliving it, especially with my friends. Ino and Shikamaru had known me since the first day of high school, but before that was a mystery to them. I didn't tell them why I had come there with no self-esteem or confidence. And I made sure _never _to tell Sasuke.

"Who?" But really, there was only one person that Kakashi could have suggested.

"Jiraiya." I winced despite my need to keep still. He didn't seem to notice my look, or simply chose to ignore it as he turned his attention over to Sasuke. "And Itachi, before you ask."

"You sent him to talk to Itachi?" Sasuke was barely keeping control over his anger, which sunk deep into his facial features. Still, his voice was steady and lacked the emotion that I felt bursting into mine.

"Why the hell would you send the asshole to my grandfather?!"

"Because Jiraiya is the only one who knows you, Naruto. Though you lived in separate houses, and your relationship is not completely normal, Jiraiya knows you better than you know yourself at times. From what basic information you gave, and Tsunade's recommendation, I decided the best person for Sasuke to speak with about your troubling past would be your grandfather. And from the way you reacted, I'd say the choice was correct."

"You're one messed up therapist." I jerked my head over to look at Sasuke, who was already facing me. "When did you go see him? I don't remember you ever leaving the house!"

"I went Saturday, when you were 'with Kiba'. Now I'm suspecting you were speaking with Itachi. You lied to me."

"Well…well I had to. Kakashi said I couldn't tell you. Besides, you lied to me too!" I snapped back, not liking the slight guilt I felt for going behind Sasuke's back. Somehow, it didn't feel quite so justified now.

"I didn't lie; you never asked me what I had done. Plus, the same rules applied for me as well. I was in direct orders not to speak to you about it." We both knew that we were being hypocritical. When I had done it, I had defended it with Kakashi's flimsy piece of paper and tried to ignore the part of me that was truly curious. And yet, now faced with the mirrored actions of Sasuke, I almost felt betrayed. Knowing that Sasuke went behind my back because of a stupid order from a therapist now made me feel bothered and…hurt. The therapy was stopping the physical violence, but the mental pain only increased. At the moment, I wasn't sure which one hurt the most. And somehow, I knew the same thoughts were running through Sasuke's head.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" I tore my eyes from Sasuke, glaring over my shoulder at Kakashi. But the almost somber look that greeted me made me bite my tongue. There was something different about the look that was tinted with a darker emotion that I hadn't seen Kakashi use since I first stepped into his office all those weeks ago. "In order to understand each other better, you had to lie, hide, and go behind each other's backs. That is how a relationship crumbles. It doesn't matter if you have a business, friendly, or romantic relationship with another person. If the trust isn't there, the bonds will break. I made you hide it, yes, but that was something you two would have done on your own if this secrecy continued in the next couple months. Hiding secrets from your important people only causes pain. I wanted you to understand that through example instead of lecture."

"Like the photo album," I mumbled quietly, suddenly drained of my anger. Kakashi may have been the most perverted, devious, and frustrating therapist to ever work in Konoha, but he was good at his job. I felt the tension release my shoulders while I stared up at Kakashi in amazement.

"Like many things. Things that I want you two to discuss here. Now that both of you have shown what you were hiding, it's time to talk about what happened in your meetings." Kakashi moved off of his resting spot on the desk, and I followed his languid movements toward the office's entrance.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"You two need to talk about what you learned from the other day. I know it will be extremely hard for you to do, and impossible if I'm here. So I'll be leaving for a little while, and I'll come back toward the end of the session to see how you are doing. Goodbye!" And just like that, Kakashi was gone. I stared at the door, already feeling the heavy silence pressing against my chest. Knowing that Sasuke wasn't looking at me, I casually turned toward the silent guy. He was still facing the desk but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. I wanted to break the silence, wanted to change the mood of the situation. But I couldn't figure out what to say.

"You spoke to Itachi." He spit the sentence out like a bad piece of food, and I could tell despite his now passive face, that Sasuke was angry.

"Yeah, I did." There was no use even trying to lie now. I'd done that enough the past couple days.

"Is…he healthy?" It was the quiet question that made me realize something that made my stomach clench. Sasuke was acting just like Itachi. As soon as he heard about me going there, he asked about his well being. These two brothers, who should have never been separated in the first place, missed each other. And yet they couldn't just go to each other, they couldn't put down their Uchiha pride and let themselves be family.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?" The words came out of my mouth before I had time to stop them.

"He tried to kill me. I don't go out of my way to visit someone who wanted me dead." I shook my head, already knowing that was a lie.

"He never tried to kill you Sasuke, it…it was just some messed up plan to keep you safe." I saw the glare sharpen on me, and it was the first time I had ever felt true disgust come from him.

"Don't say another word." I knew that he meant it. Whether it was because he didn't want to know the truth, or he didn't think I was telling it I wasn't sure. But the stare told me that if I did say something else, I was going to regret it.

"He loves you." I found myself on the floor, the right side of my face throbbing from the hard punch that I hadn't felt in weeks. I pushed myself to sit on the floor, grabbing my cheek while I glared up at Sasuke, who now stood from his seat with fists formed at his side. He really wasn't kidding when he told me to stop talking.

"Itachi does _not _harbor any feelings of affection toward me. You don't poison people you love."

"Don't you think it'd be pretty fucking stupid to leave a pill bottle in front of a person you wanted to kill? You may have been young, but you were a genius back then too!" I moved to the other side of the room, quickly throwing my fists up in front of me to keep from being blind-sighted again.

"Itachi made a mistake."

"Itachi was way smarter than you were back then. And for a genius who would have plotted that for a while, that's a pretty big mistake to make! You're acting like he's me or something. But if he was planning for you to see it—" I barely missed the swing he threw at me, but he caught me off guard when he slammed my body into the wall. I grunted in pain, not used to physical injuries anymore. But it wasn't enough to stop me from speaking. "Then…then it'd make sense, right?"

"That'd be implying that Itachi wanted to be accused of my murder." Sasuke kept me pressed against the wall, but didn't hit me again.

"Attempted. Because you didn't die," I corrected, watching his eyes narrow again.

"Fine, attempted. Doesn't change the fact he attempted to kill me, and wanted to be blamed for it."

"Will you just get your head out of your ass and think about it?! What does Itachi gain from killing you? He fought for months to keep you; all he had to do to get rid of you was let that creep win the case! It doesn't make sense to try and _kill_ you, risking the chance of losing his freedom, when he could call it quits in the court case and let them get rid of you for him. Didn't you ever think about that?"

"Of course, don't be stupid."

"Can't help it; stupidity comes natural."

"Hn." Catching him off guard, I pushed him away from me. Using the stumble to my advantage, I pushed him onto the ground. We wrestled like we used to, exchanging positions and punches. It was something we both knew, something we both felt comfortable with. It was something Sasuke could face without having to feel anything he wasn't used to, like regret, realization, and guilt. So finally, when I struggled to push Sasuke under me, I grabbed his arms and leaned down to mumble into his ear something he was fighting to ignore.

"Then tell me, why would he want to kill you? Tell me what the big ass brain of yours thought of. Because form where I'm sitting, that just doesn't add up."

"Get away from me." I shook my head several times, refusing to let go of his arms while he struggled.

"I'll tell you what you thought of. Nothing. You know just as much as I do that it doesn't make any sense!"

"And plotting a fake murder does?" I looked down at him when he stopped struggling, watching his face barely show the pain I was stirring up. I didn't like the feeling of hurting Sasuke, but it had to be done.

"It does…you just don't have all of the pieces to the puzzle," I said quietly. "Do you want to know what really happened, Sasuke? What I learned from actually talking to Itachi instead of taking what everyone said and immediately assuming that they were right?"

"Jiraiya talks as much as you. It's not surprising that you're related." I felt my eyes widen at the sudden escape that Sasuke used to get away from his own insecurity, but I couldn't help but fall into his trap.

"What did he tell you?"

"A lot that you've hidden." My hands clenched around his arms, and I knew in the back of my head I was going to bruise him. At the moment, I didn't care. It was the only thing that kept me from slugging him, and the last thing I needed was Kakashi coming back to one of us dragging the other's body out of the office.

"Like _what_?" It was quiet for a minute, as if he was trying to think of the right thing to say before he continued.

"You were hated as a child. You had little to no friends in middle school because of your parents' disappearance. People continuously called your insults and you became severely depressed." By now I had closed my eyes, trying to ignore the slight pain to focus on the conversation.

"We weren't talking about me."

"You didn't respond to people's insults, and started to get into fights and trouble at school. From Jiraiya's claim, you were just a punching bag to them. He said you'd arrive home with bruises and bleeding that he knew you couldn't have gotten if you were blocking or fighting back. You…_allowed _them to hit you. As if—"

"As if I deserved it? Well what the hell would you think if you were me?!" I glared down at him, not liking how he talked down to me. I dealt with that enough through my life; I didn't need him doing it. "My parents left me. It wasn't like they were forced to leave, they didn't die. All I knew at the time was they…they left. And I was alone, a ten year old kid who nobody really wanted. What was I supposed to think? That I was worth something? I didn't have people talking about how great my parents were, I didn't have people taking pity on me for losing my parents. I had kids who hated me because their parents were scared of me. Scared of an abandoned ten year old, how pathetic is that?

"So yeah, I thought I deserved it. But…but now I know I didn't. You wanna know why? Because I found out what really happened. And now, I know that all of those years that I spent hating my parents…hating everything about them was for nothing. For _years _I just wanted to hit them and yell…I...I just wanted to hold them and cry. I wanted to know why they left, why they didn't even say goodbye. Just like _you _always wanted to know why Itachi left that fucking pill bottle on the counter!

"You knew in your head, in the deepest part of your heart, that Itachi wasn't dumb enough to ever leave that out there. You knew it and you just ignored it because you couldn't face him. He's twenty minutes away, waiting for you to come see him, missing you as much as you miss him. Do you understand how lucky you are to have that chance? I would have done anything to just talk to my parents again, to just see them one more time. And you can't swallow your pride long enough to find out the truth? I got my chance taken from me, but you haven't yet. So…so stop being a coward and go see him!"

My breathing was heavy and my weakened grip trembled against his skin. The world around me blurred, but it wasn't until Sasuke wiped the water leaking from my eyes that I realized that it was because I was crying. I was angry at Sasuke and Itachi for wasting all of these years. I was upset thinking about how close I was to being with my parents again. I missed the life I had before my parents had left me alone. All of it hit into my gut like a sucker punch and the tears refused to stop. I tilted my head away from Sasuke's quiet touch, the jerky movement causing a teardrop to fall against his cheek. He stayed quiet while I continued to brush my eyes with my sleeves and ignore his gaze. I felt him sit up underneath me, and I slowly dropped into his lap when he hesitantly pulled me forward. It was the second time that Sasuke had ever held me. His arms pressed tightly into my back, and his head buried into my neck while his fingers slid along the bottom of my spine. There was no tensing this time, even when I pressed my forehead to the top of his shoulder. There was nothing that showed how hard it was for Sasuke to reach out like this. Maybe because it was starting to slowly become easier for the Uchiha.

"Come with me." I would have missed the quiet command if I didn't feel it vibrated against my neck. Quietly I pulled my head back from his shoulder, looking over at him through clear eyes. The tears had stopped a while ago, but I didn't feel ready to give up the touch yet.

"Huh?" He didn't lift his head, keeping his lips pressed against the hollow of my neck.

"Come with me. To…" But he didn't need to say another word. Suddenly, it clicked in the back of my head, and I nodded.

"Sure, teme." I leaned my head against his, feeling exhausted from the fighting and emotional drain we had just gone through. I could only smile when I felt his shoulders tense after I slid my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. It was small and only for a second, but it was still there. It reminded me of the incident on Saturday, when he denied my help.

So Sasuke didn't mind touching people as much as he minded people touching him. It made sense, in a way. When Sasuke touched someone, he controlled what was going on, and how long the touch lasted. He was in control, the 'dominate' if we have to use that stupid word. But when someone switched the role, and took the power away from him…he didn't have control of his own life anymore. He didn't know what was going to happen, if something good would switch to something painful. If I wanted to blame it on something, it would be the fact that his parents were taken from him without so much as a warning. He had no control over anything when he was little. He probably never wanted to lose that control again.

"Well this seemed to go better than I had anticipated." I jumped a bit at the overly cheerful voice, and I glanced up to see Kakashi leaning against the doorway of the office. The noise that came from my throat was between a groan and a yelp, moving to pull away from Sasuke quickly. Even while we separated, Kakashi spoke. "Apparently, Sai was quite right in his discoveries."

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!" I chanted, sending several glares at the older man while I scrambled to get back into my seat.

"There is no need to be ashamed of your relationship, Naruto. People tend to be attracted to people who share common pasts or interests. In this case, it would be perfectly understandable if you and Sasuke started a romantic relationship." I didn't know which I wanted to do more, kill Kakashi or bury my head into the seat cushion. Maybe both.

"Are we done here?" I muttered, sinking lower in my chair. Maybe if I was lucky, the ground would finally grant my wishes and swallow me whole.

"Not yet. I want to go over your progress at school. Sasuke, I've heard that Tsunade did not have to call either of you down to the office this past week, is that correct?" When Sasuke silently nodded, Kakashi continued. "And no detentions?"

"No."

"Good, I'm very impressed with both of your improvements. Now if you can continue this for the rest of the year, you won't have to worry about graduating high school. Actually, with this new relationship development, you'll have to focus on seeing each other during college."

"Huh?" Now that, I wasn't ready for. Both heads turned toward me as if forgetting I had been there. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what are your plans when you get out of school, Naruto?"

"Well, I was thinking of taking over gramp's restaurant when he retires. It won't be for a few years but I can learn to run the business and cook."

"That's a great plan, Naruto. So when high school is over, you won't be forced to see Sasuke again. You see, Sasuke has been informed that he was accepted into Suna University, and will become a full time student there. You, however, will be staying in Konoha. Though distance in relationships is good, it can always put a wedge between two people's lives."

"That won't happen! He'll always be in my life. Nobody else can stand him," I defended, trying to ignore the clenching of my heart in my chest. From the corner of my eye, I could see Sasuke. I expected some intelligent backing, something to help prove that we wouldn't lose touch like that. But he kept his lips still and simply stared at Kakashi. I felt my stomach shrink. Why wasn't he talking? Why wasn't he agreeing with me?

"But it is quite possible that you will lose touch with each other."

"I…" I don't know why my mouth went dry. I should have had a reply ready. Normally my mouth could shoot off ideas or thoughts without me even telling it to, it had during the entire fight with Sasuke minutes before. But now it simply refused to work. I was so wrapped up in everything else going on, I didn't even think about graduation. We were heading into February, which meant we only had a few months left of high school. A few months till this would all end. Where I wouldn't have to listen to boring lectures by Anko. Where I couldn't plan new tricks with Kiba or sky gaze with Shikamaru during gym. There'd be no need to avoid Sakura in the halls. No more reminders left taped to my locker by Ino about work or school. And if Kakashi was right, and Sasuke was really going to move to Suna for school, then…

The sound of my phone gave me a chance to snap out of my own head. Kakashi blinked while I fumbled to grab my phone from my pocket, looking between the two and quickly diverting my gaze.

"I-I've gotta take this. I've gotta…bye!" Without listening for their responses, I pushed out of the chair and almost ran straight through the office door. I inhaled sharply, the cold air burning my lungs from the inside out. Still I didn't care, using the large breaths to control anything that was swelling in my stomach. Why were my emotions going haywire today? Why did I even care if Sasuke moved away? I mean it wasn't like I was in love with the kid or anything! It was just a slight crush, just a weird feeling that would pass eventually.

Right?

"Naruto? Yo, you alive blondie?" I shook my head at the heart stopping idea, focusing on Jiraiya's voice.

"Sorry gramps I…I was just thinking."

"That's a first."

"Hey! I got that enough from Sasuke, I don't need it from you too." It took me a minute to remember what Sasuke had told me earlier. "Speaking of the bastard, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Well currently, I was trying to decide if Tsunade would look better in pink or green undergarments."

"…Ew." Well that was going to keep me celibate. "I meant with Sasuke."

"Oh, him. Well, the boy came over and asked me about you, and so I told him. He's the first one who's ever asked. Besides, he said something about the information being used for your therapy. "

"So you just told him everything? Without my permission?"

"Yup." My eye twitched at how easy going the old man was. Really, didn't he know what the word 'personal' meant? "But that's not why I called."

"Well hurry up, I'm at therapy right now."

"One of the cooks called out sick, something about bad seafood he ate. I need you to come cover him when you're done with the Uchiha. The pretty little blonde said you'd be done with therapy soon."

"Ino? She has a name you know."

"I could call her 'c-cup'. Be lucky I call her blonde."

"How do you know her bra size?!"

"A man never tells his secrets."

"You're a pervert. Leave Ino alone. I'll be there in an hour." I shut the phone, mentally muttering about the perverts in my life. They needed to go to a 'perverts anonymous' class. I turned to move back into the office, but I nearly fell over when I realized Sasuke was standing behind me. I stumble but caught myself while glaring over to Sasuke, who leaned against the wall next to the office.

"Kakashi said we were done with therapy today. He left while you yelling about someone's bra size." I flushed when I realized Sasuke heard my conversation, but turned before he could notice it.

"That was the pervert's fault. Besides I don't need to tell you anything!"

"I didn't ask." Sometimes I hated him.

"…Just drive me home. I have to go to work." He moved past me and toward the car while I followed quietly, the same silence hanging in the air through the car ride. I looked at him several times, and I could tell that occasionally his eyes would drift over to me. Our timing was just off. So when the gates to his house opened, I was sure we weren't going to talk again until after work. But being sure around Sasuke was impossible.

"I'm not moving to Suna." I looked away from the window, waiting for Sasuke to continue. "I lived there once with…I do not want to live there again."

"But Kakashi said that you were—"

"If I got to Suna University, I'll take the train. Money does not concern me."

"Then why did he say that?"

"To test you, probably." He looked over to me while shutting the car off, speaking quietly. "Though I'm not positive it was for therapeutic reasons."

"What's the supposed to mean?"

"Kakashi is my guardian. Meaning it's his responsibility to take care of me. Though I don't need his assistance in the romantic part of my life, I'm assuming he feels obligated to monitor that part as well." It took me a minute to process all of the words he used before realizing what he was saying. Somehow, despite how much Kakashi annoyed me, I smiled.

"He's acting like a protective dad."

"He's not my father."

"Not biologically. But he's the one who has been taking care of you for a big part of your life, right? It's natural to kind of feel protective over things you feel responsible for."

"Like you." I don't know if he meant to say that. By the way his eyes partially widened before quickly moving from the car, I don't think he did. I sat, dumbfounded, at the Freudian slip. Most of me was pissed. I didn't need to be protected; I was responsible for myself. I didn't need Sasuke to watch out of me. But, the smallest sliver inside of me actually kind of felt…good. Having someone want to protect me just proved that really, there were people who didn't think I was worthless. I felt myself grin as I moved out of the car, moving quickly after Sasuke.

"Hey!" He looked down at me from the staircase, and I quickly jogged up the stairs while he spoke.

"You need to get prepared for wo—" There were two possible ways to get Sasuke over his insecurity of letting people touch him. One was more therapy, long talks about feelings, and pointless quizzes and tests that would eventually lead to small improvements in his problem. The other, more Naruto way, was to use a more…_physical _therapy. His muscles flexed and tensed when I cut his sentence off with my mouth, initiating a kiss he wasn't prepared for. The position was awkward, his arm resting against the railing while we kissed over his shoulder. I ignored it, pressing against his back while I parted my lips, brushing his lower lip with my tongue. The motion seemed to snap him from his shock, because a chill of cooler air passed my lips when he pulled away. I tried to hide the slight disappointment of my failure with a grin, running past him and up toward his room. It may not have been much, but it was a start.

"I called you the 't' word when we were at therapy. I figured I'd cash in on it." I turned to face him at the top of the stairs, my smile growing when I realized he still hadn't moved from his spot. But the scowl on his lips proved he was clear headed now.

"That experiment is over, idiot."

"Well…maybe I don't want it to be." Why I decided to be so open, I wasn't sure. In fact, I was sure that somewhere in the future, I would smack myself and wonder what the hell possessed me to talk like that. But for the moment, I was still hung up on the idea of proving to Sasuke that being in control all the time was not going to happen. Especially when Uzumaki Naruto was his opponent. And I could tell that I caught him off guard with the admission, because the pink tint in his cheeks gave him away. He looked away while he scoffed, continuing his ascent up the stairs. I didn't wait for him, moving toward his room and pulling out clothes for work. I struggled out of my shirt, the fabric covering my eyes when I heard Sasuke enter the room. I froze for a moment before scrambling out of the shirt, blushing while I glared at him. He arched an eyebrow, and I glared deeper while pressing my shirt closer to myself.

"What?"

"Get out of the room! I'm changing!"

"You've changed in front of me before."

"But we weren't…" I fidgeted a bit, still uncomfortable with the word 'boyfriend'.

"Stop acting like a woman."

"I'm not a woman!" I threw my shirt at him, growing more frustrated when he easily avoided it. Huffing, I turned away from him while I undid my pants, trying to ignore that he was in the room. I dropped the jeans onto the ground, turning to face him to gloat about my lack of shyness. But when I was greeted with an empty room, I blinked. Where the hell did he go? I moved around the room, checking in the closet before dropping to look under the bed. When I found no trace of the bastard, I fumbled with my uniform before I made my way down the stairs, buttoning the shirt while I moved. I glanced around, feeling extremely miffed when I realized Sasuke was in the living room, working on homework. "Hey!"

"What?" He didn't even look up from his homework. I scrunched my nose in irritation.

"Where the hell were you? First you say to undress in front of you and then you just leave?"

"I went in to grab my book. Did you want me to stay?" He asked, and I flushed at the question.

"No you pervert! You've been hanging around Kakashi way too much," I said, watching him scoff.

"Go to work." I gaped while he continued to write. That bastard! Ready to kill him for the millionth time that day, I moved out of the living room and grabbed my keys.

"That jerk, he probably just got too horny seeing me half naked. My body must have given him a nose bleed or something."

"Troublesome." I glared over at boy who answered, the lazy customer munching on french-fries while glancing to the blonde waitress on the other side of the room. I could tell, despite the lack of evidence, that Shikamaru enjoyed the small uniforms that Jiraiya picked out for the waitresses.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked, watching him stretch. He sighed, leaning his arms on the table. His head soon followed.

"Ino said I had to come here at the end of her shift. I don't understand women, they're far too complicated."

"You're the valedictorian of our class. You had aced Trigonometry, Physics, and the AP English class. If you can't get woman, then the rest of the world is in big trouble." He waved me away from him, and I rolled my eyes while I made my way back to the kitchen. I made it two steps in before Shikamaru's counterpart stepped in front of me. "Jesus Ino! Give a guy some warning. You're way too quiet when you want to be."

"Naruto, I need your help." Ino gripped her serving pan in both hands, holding in front of her body self-consciously. I blinked once before slowly tilting my head.

"Why, what's up?" I asked slowly, slightly amused at how easily her face flushed.

"Well…me and Shikamaru have been on a few dates and I don't know h—"

"Whoa. When did this happen? As far as I knew, you had one!"

"Well you've been busy with Sasuke and Sai…I've barely been able to talk to you for more than a couple minutes without something else happening. Since we last had a real talk, me and Shikamaru have gone out to dinner twice and then we went ice skating with Hinata and Kiba. That's four dates, Naruto. _Four_ dates and Shikamaru hasn't said anything about dating exclusively!"

"Well uh…have you?" I asked slowly, blinking in confusion.

"Me? Why would I ask him? He's the guy! He's supposed to ask me, not the other way around," She said, crossing her arms. I looked behind her, wincing at the black smoke that was coming from the new cook that I had left unattended when I went to say hi to Shikamaru.

"Look, Ino, I've gotta go but…let me tell you something. If I hadn't suggested to the bastard that we get together, we'd never have hooked up. Sometimes you need to push the idea, or just do it yourself. Especially with someone as lazy and calculating as Shikamaru."

"Wait, you and Sasuke are together?!"

"Uh… I've got to run, the kitchens on fire!" I moved past the stunned blonde to help aid the fire that now had broke out over the stove. I didn't see Shikamaru or Ino for the rest of the shift, since I was too busy running gramp's business while he sat in his office and did 'work' (which was probably porno or spying on Tsunade). The rest of the night was hectic, and several times I wished I hadn't agreed to coming in. But in a way, it was good practice for when I did take over the restaurant. And I was definitely going to change some things.

I was so tired when I left the restaurant a half hour after the place closed up, I didn't notice the car parked next to my truck. I didn't look to see the silent girl leaning against the side of my truck, or the deep green eyes that watched every weary step I made. I let out a loud sight while running my hand through my hair, which was shorter than the pink haired girl I still didn't notice. It wasn't until a heard a voice that used to melt my heart enter the air that I realized quickly someone else was left in the deserted parking lot.

"Naruto." I lifted my head at my name, staring in shock at the girl I had spent several days avoiding.

"Sa-Sakura! Uh…hi! What are you doing here?" I kept a good distance between us, just in case. I already had a bruise forming on my face from the punch Sasuke gave me, I didn't need any more. She pushed off her resting spot, and I could already see the thing I wanted to avoid in her eyes. Pain.

"Don't think I was stupid enough to not notice that you were avoiding me like the plague."

"I don't think you're stupid, you know that! I know you're smart," I said quickly, shaking my head. What I intended to be a compliment seemed to only hurt her more.

"Don't try to avoid this, Naruto."

"Avoid what?"

"I already know what you've been hiding, so there's need to try and pretend! You and Sasuke are _together, _aren't you?!" I know my shock was apparent of my face.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I saw you. The hallway on Monday, with Sai? It was outside my classroom. So when I tried to go back to class I…I saw Sasuke and _you _making out like two love-sick teenagers! You two were so wrapped up in each other, you didn't notice me there. I couldn't even go back to class." Before I could even open my mouth, she was raising her voice in volume and pitch. "All this time, I thought you were just trying to help me out! But really, you just wanted to take Sasuke-kun for yourself! You didn't even care about me or my feelings; you just wanted to fulfill your own fantasies."

"What? No, you've got it all wrong! I didn't mean to…you weren't meant to get hurt. I mean I didn't even like the bastard until after we had our talk, I promise! I thought I was in love with you for as long as I can remember. The teme was never even in the equation until we…this therapy thing has…" I winced slightly at the first sight of tears, knowing this wasn't how I wanted it to turn out. I took a step closer to her, hating the way she flinched and stepped back. "Neither one of us planned this to happen. It just did."

"How can that just happen? You don't just fall for someone because some stupid therapist tells you to get to know each other!" She threw her arm out when I moved closer, her tears making her voice waver. "No! St-stay away from me…don't come near me."

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you cry." I dropped my stuff to the ground as I moved to her, gently pulling her outstretched hand to me. She struggled, but I was too strong for it to be considered a fight.

"You don't care! You never cared about me or my feelings," She cried out, both of us knowing it wasn't true. In fact, for the past four years, all I had focused on was Sakura. Whether it was her beauty, her laughter, her intelligence or the way she hopelessly fawned over Sasuke, I had always been infatuated with Sakura. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt her. Even now, I couldn't help but tighten my arms around her while she sobbed and hit my chest.

"I never meant to go behind your back. You know I'd never want to hurt you, Sakura. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. In my head, I always thought I'd…I'd be with you in the future. That used to be the only thing that mattered to me. Being Haruno Sakura's husband and having her take my last name as my wife. But—"

"I love him, Naruto." She clenched her hands into my shirt, and I tried to ignore the jealous side of myself to focus on my friend.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. If I could change this all to make you happy, you know I would." I slid my hands up to cup her cheeks, feeling the water slide along my palms while I stared into her heartbroken gaze. "Tell me that you believe me. That you know I'd never do something to hurt you intentionally. It's just somehow…the bastard he…we clicked. When I said Sasuke didn't want you, I didn't know that it would be me he ended up choosing. Really, nobody could have known that! I don't even think the genius did. And we fought it like hell, because loving someone like Sasuke is not what I consider lucky. I didn't have control of this, I promise."

"Loving?" She whispered, and I tensed instantly at my mistake. Like magic, the tears slowly slowed as she stared up at me in shock. "You…you love him?"

"No!"

"B-But you said it."

"I…I meant 'like'; I just got caught up in the moment and it must of just slipped."

"Lies don't just slip, Naruto. Secrets do." She almost seemed angry at my denial, and I avoided her sharp gaze that was now tearless. "Do you really love Sasuke-kun?"

"This…isn't about me and Sasuke. This is about me and you. Because if you're not going to be happy if me and Sasuke are together, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to hurt you anymore, especially over Sasuke."

"You'd break up with him for…my happiness?" Feeling my loyalty being tested, I nodded quietly at her question. I could feel my stomach twisting in knots at the idea of giving up on Sasuke, but I had lived without him for all this time, right? I could go without him if I had to. I stared down at the changing emotions on Sakura's face, not liking when it stopped on something I couldn't read. The moment of nervousness disappeared when Sakura wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down into a tight hug. "You big idiot. I should hit you."

"Sa-Sakura, you're ch-choking me!" I gasped out, squirming in front of her while she continued to hold my neck.

"I'm so selfish." At her hushed tone, I felt her grip loosen around my neck. Still, she kept her face against my cheek to keep me from looking at her. "All this time, I've only thought about what I felt. I felt angry, betrayed, and hurt. Angry because I let myself continue to chase after someone I knew I'd never get. Betrayed because he just…seemed so content with you, even when you were insulting each other. Like he enjoyed nothing more than being with you, and not me. Hurt because you could get into Sasuke-kun's heart when I couldn't. You did nothing but be yourself, headstrong and…and wear your heart on your sleeve, and you somehow stole him away from everyone. Fr-From me.

"I never thought about how you felt, Naruto, or how Sasuke-kun felt. How my needs could possibly drive you two apart. And though a part of me wants to do that…a stronger part wants you to be happy. And all I've ever wanted was Sasuke to be happy. And I know the only way that's going to happen is if I…I stop thinking about my dream and start thinking about the truth. I'll…never be you, just like you'll never be Sasuke. A-And since Sasuke seems to only want you, I can't be the one for him. You've gotta make him happy for me." She finally lifted her head, her eyes closed while she pressed her forehead just underneath my mouth. I could feel her shaking in my arms, and I rubbed her back to try to keep her warm and comforted. When I had realized I wasn't going to end up with Sakura, I still had Sasuke. But Sakura was turning away from everything she wanted, and walking toward the unknown. It took a strength that I knew only Sakura had. It was why I had been in such awe over her for so long.

"Sakura…"

"So let's…let's do this right." She took a quiet breath before she stepped back, pulling one of my arms away from her back. I watched, completely confused until I saw a teary smile and a pinky raised in front of me. "Pinky swear that…you'll always try…to keep Sasuke-kun happy."

"It's pretty damn hard with the teme," I replied, but lifted my pinky to wrap around hers. "But…trust me. I promise I'll do my best to keep the bastard happy. Believe it. Even if I have to beat the shit out of him to get there."

"Naruto!" I laughed as she used her other hand to hit me before slowly joining me. To say that Sakura was completely happy when she left the parking lot was a lie. Once again, I watched a semi-bruised heart drive away from me the same way she had done all of those weeks ago. But like before, I knew she'd eventually heal. It would take a lot of time; there was no doubt about that. Still, Sakura was strong and I knew she'd pick herself up and find the right guy for her. He would make her smile, and give her all of the attention that she had been looking for from Sasuke. And with her options now free from her first love, hopefully she'd give the new guy a chance.

But when one love ended, did another one start? I sat in my truck, staring at the cars that passed by while I tried to figure out how the word 'love' got slipped in there. Maybe it was because Sakura had been saying it so much before, I accidentally used it too? For some reason the explanation just didn't feel right. I had heard Sakura say she loved Sasuke several times. Why did I choose now to slip up like that? And why did my heart beat so fast when she asked me if I was in love with him? From the way my breath caught and my throat went dry, it almost felt like really _did _love him. But I didn't, right? It was the second time I had asked myself the same question. I started the truck, Sakura's voice filling my head the entire way back.

"_Lies don't just slip, Naruto. Secrets do." _

**FINALLY! –falls over- Really, these chapters are kicking my ass. Plus this new 'being social' thing just isn't my thing. But as Naruto starts to question his true feelings for Sasuke, we race toward the end of the story. Is Naruto in love with Sasuke? What about Sasuke? What will happen with Sasuke and Itachi meet? Will Sasuke ever let Naruto take control? And the most important for all you readers…when will the sexy happen?! Haha calm down! I promise there will be some SasuNaru action in the next chapter! So review and wait!**

**OH! And there's a new poll in my profile about my new stories after Therapy. So go vote! And PLEASE only vote for TWO. Voting for all of them doesn't really help me…haha!**


	16. Trust and Love go Hand in Hand

'Hello! Well, I know that this has been long-awaited and you all want to kill me because of it, but I had some personal things I needed to take care of. Thank you all for being so supportive and understanding, it means a lot to me. So for a present, you will be getting a lovely citrus scene =) just as I promised before. SO grab your Kleenex and let's get going!

**Warning: ****Two boys, one shower, no clothes…oh yeah, you better be ready to get boyxboy!**

**Disclaimer: ****-looks through chapter- I don't own Na-gah!! –gets run over by fan girls- Naruto…**

**Trust and Love go Hand in Hand**

"What do you mean 'do I have to go'? Of _course _you do! He's your boyfriend you know. Which means you need to go support him, especially since the basketball team made it into the play-offs. If they win this one, then they advance to the one on Tuesday, and then the championship next Friday! And since you'll be working Tuesday, you have to come to this one. He'll want you to be there for at least one of them. It's just a natural boyfriend thing." I mentally sighed while watching Ino pace around her room, switching clothes while she explained why I _had _to go to Sasuke's game. Really, it didn't seem like a big deal. Sasuke hadn't even asked me to go. We hadn't had more than five minutes alone without someone calling or texting us. Really, we had been so caught up in everyone's discovery of our relationship to even think about alone time.

Thursday was the day I finally told some of my friends about me and the teme's relationship. I told everyone to meet me after school in the parking lot, which would give me an easy escape if any of them went crazy. Ino was excited, though she continued to say she knew before I even told her. Shikamaru seemed even less surprised, but he didn't bother to comment. Hinata was amazed, to say the least. In fact, I hadn't seen her eyes go that wide since the time she walked into the boy's bathroom on accident freshman year. But she didn't seem disgusted or freaked out by it. Not even Neji, who was very set in his traditional ways, was upset. Then again, he seemed to figure it out back during my parents' memorial service. Tenten had simply smiled and congratulated us and Kiba…

I still hadn't actually talked to him yet. Kiba's reaction was extremely different that the others, not that I expected anything less. He didn't really say anything, which was the first red flag that I got. But after a few minutes of congratulations and teasing between my friends, Kiba walked away. Even Hinata seemed surprised by the sudden departure of the dog-lover, who always made a grand exit when he left. But this time he was quiet and fast, barely even giving us time to see the smoke from his tires when he peeled out of the parking lot. I winced a bit, hating to know that my fear of Kiba knowing wasn't stupid.

"It's not like he's even going to know if I'm there." Pushing past the memories of yesterday, I focused back on the blonde in front of me. She placed her hands on her hips, proving she wouldn't be convinced of anything other than what she wanted.

"Of course he will. Stop being stupid. You said you had fun last time, why don't you want to go?" I knew exactly why I didn't want to go. But telling her that I was avoiding one of my best friends would only make her fight twice as hard.

"I…I don't feel good."

"You really can't lie to save your life." I pouted at her comment, glaring away from her when she smiled. The bed dipped slightly to my right, showing she had moved next to me. "Really, Naruto, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing!" She leaned away from me, and I mentally scolded myself for yelling at her. It wasn't her fault that I was upset. Pushing to stand from her bed, I felt myself pace through an apology. "Sorry it's...it's just complicated. I'll go tonight, alright?"

"Naruto-" Her worried look didn't stop the doorbell from ringing downstairs, which gave me an opportune time to avoid the conversation.

"I bet that's Shikamaru. We better go."

"Really, how does he always manage to interrupt good conversations?" She sighed, mumbling about 'injustice' or something while she grabbed her sneakers and moved out of her room. I couldn't help but laugh while following her, watching the blonde give an unearned glare to Shikamaru. Said boy didn't seem to be bothered, but then again he was probably just as used to it as I was.

"You ready?" The enthusiasm in his voice was oh so evident.

"You better drive Shikamaru; Naruto will probably grab a ride with Sasuke after the game." The casual tone Ino used should have made me angry, but I really felt nothing. Maybe a few weeks ago, I would have blushed and freaked out on her. Actually, remembering the last game I went to, I did. But now, after admitting a full fledge relationship with Sasuke; I knew I didn't have to. Even if I did like a boy, _Sasuke _to be exact, I didn't have to feel ashamed or worry about what others thought. Especially with Ino and Shikamaru, who had never seemed bothered about it since day one. In fact, Ino had been more than willing to help get us together, as freaky as that was.

"You just want an excuse to be alone with Shika," I replied, quickly avoiding the blonde's punch and running behind Shikamaru. She glared at me, but her blush was less than intimidating. If Shikamaru noticed, he didn't comment as he sighed.

"Kiba already offered to drive." I tensed at the reply.

"Ki-Kiba? He's not even here!" I said quickly, shaking my head.

"He's waiting outside with Hinata. Said something about Ino and Hinata talking too much and missing the game."

"As if! Hinata talks about as much as a mute." The two continued to carry a conversation while my mind crawled into itself, racing through too many thoughts to catch. Out of all of the games that Kiba comes to pick us up, it had to be the one that occurred after we stopped talking. In the back of my mind, I knew it was on purpose. Kiba could be stupid, but this was beyond that. No, this was deliberate and I knew I had no choice but to follow Shikamaru and Ino out of the house and toward Kiba's car. Like dog breath predicted, Ino and Hinata easily submerged into a conversation, Ino's continuous rambling blocking her from the uncomfortable tension I knew the other two boys felt. I took a quiet breath, trying to remind myself of anything that me and Kiba had in common to talk about. But my mind wouldn't work, and had sheltered itself away from the awkward glances shared between me and Kiba.

"You ready to go?" He didn't address me, choosing to look at Shikamaru instead.

"You're driving," The lazy guy replied, stretching his arms behind his head and glancing up at the night sky.

I couldn't tell what Kiba was feeling throughout the entire ride. At some points, he seemed normal and even laughed at a comment one of our friends made. But then, whenever I'd speak, I could almost see the change in his driving. His fingers would clench closer to the steering wheel, and not once did he reply to me. Each time, a tiny prick of pain chipped away inside of my stomach, opening the wound that was made when Kiba had peeled out of the parking lot. Hinata would find ways to chime in, proving that she knew something that Ino seemed oblivious to.

"Naruto." So it came to a shock when I heard my name push past Kiba's mouth. Ironically, it was in the same parking lot that we had last talked in before I broke the news to everyone. I jerked my head back to look at him, noticing instantly that he has stopped walking. The group didn't seem to notice, and continued to move despite the fact that I had stopped. I stared at my friend, wondering if this was the last time I'd be able to call him that and really mean it.

"Hey! Are you two coming or not?" Ino seemed to finally realize that we weren't following, and I wanted to do nothing more than to quickly run back to the safety of the group. But Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a coward, and I could tell by the look in Kiba's eyes that he wanted to talk. So instead, I lifted my hand casually, waving her forward.

"Go on without us. We'll catch up in a second." _Hopefully_. But knowing how easily that would have tipped off the tension, I kept that part to myself. Apparently, the thick air was just visible to me and Kiba. So I waited to hear a loud huff from my blonde haired friend in order to drop my hand. Kiba leaned against the side of his car while shoving his hands into his pockets, eerily reminding me of how Sasuke normally stood. Funny how the one person who could destroy me and dog breath's friendship kept popping into my head.

"Look, I ain't really good at this talking shit, but Hinata told me I should so…" I watched him rub the back of his head, showing that I wasn't the only one who felt extremely awkward.

"Should have figured it was for a girl."

"When _isn't _it for a girl?"

"Do you even have a brain? Cause I'm pretty sure your little 'friend' thinks way more than it should. And Hinata isn't even your girlfriend!"

"Like you're one to talk. You would have bent over backwards for Sakura before..." He stopped, and the moment of normalcy became strange again. "Before a month ago."

"Yeah, well…I kind of got over her."

"That's kind of obvious." Both of us were normally blunt. Hell, half the time we were getting attacked by the girls because of our crude honesty. We were even worse when it came to each other. I had no problem telling him when he smelt like shit and he didn't even think about stopping the insult about my obnoxious obsession with the color orange. So why did it feel like we were both tongue-tied and struggling for words?

"Know what else is 'kind of' obvious? That me being bisexual bugs you." I decided I hated beating around the bush. I winced a bit when he looked away, watching his eyes stare at the courts outside of the school. The ones we had spent so many sweaty afternoons playing basketball on.

"It doesn't bug me."

"Bull shit."

"Really, I want you all happy and whatever. It's just _weird_. I mean, what would you do if it was the other way around? My best bud tells me he suddenly has a thing for guys, and just expects me to be all for it? It's just not that simple. This ain't Hollywood you know, things don't just happen that way."

"How do you think I feel? You think I _enjoy _liking guys? It's not exactly like I woke up one morning and went 'shit, let's try liking dick today'! It just...I like girls still. It's not like I'm completely gay. But if I found out you were gay, or bisexual, or anything strange, I know that I wouldn't just stop being best friends with you."

"Who the hell said I wasn't still your best friend? _Now _who's forgetting to use their head?" In order to emphasis (or to make sure it was still okay to participate in touching me without fearing I'd get hard), Kiba hit the side of my head with his fist. I growled and shoved his hand away from me, glaring.

"Well you didn't exactly seem excited about being friends when you peeled out of the parking lot a couple days ago!"

" That's cause your idiocy rubbed off on me somehow and I thought getting away from you would make the whole problem go away. I've never dealt with something like this. I still don't know what's okay and not okay with you. But Hinata convinced me that pretending the problem didn't exist wasn't going to change the fact that you…uh, like guys." I could see the scrunching of his nose from the awkward sentence, which probably seemed foreign to him. After all, I had spent years pining over Sakura while he watched any nice pair of legs walking by. When we weren't playing basketball and complaining about unfair teachers, we talked about girls. Suddenly realizing that all of that was gone wasn't easy. Maybe not as difficult as my realization, but still hard.

"I really don't know how to deal with it either." Scratching the back of my head, I looked sheepishly down at my shoes. "But having understanding friends would kind of make it easier."

"Yeah, Hinata told me that too."

"That's cause she's twice as smart as you."

"I'm still smarter than you."

"Shut up, dog-breath!" I shot a glare at him, but internally relaxed when I heard him laughing. It was the first time in a while that I didn't feel my shoulders locked in a tensed position when Kiba came around. Once he finally got out his laughter, he leaned his head on the side of his car to stare up at the night sky. From the angle I could see the white puffs of smoke he blew out while trying to catch his breath.

"Well you still get pissy like the straight Naruto."

"I'm still the same guy. I just changed my interests a little is all."

"Yeah." He didn't flinch away when I moved to stand next to him, joining him in his star gazing. I knew that we needed to get to the game before Ino came out and dragged us in by our ears, but I didn't voice my concern. I was just happy that Kiba was slowly starting to realize that I was the same guy I had been a month ago. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, because I heard him scoff. "I shouldn't of left."

"Yeah, I know," I said, glancing over to him from the corner of my eye. He returned the gaze with a tint of irritation.

"This is the part where you go 'don't worry man, I would have been weird too if I was you'. If you want, you can add some compliments in there; just don't make em too gay. Last thing I need is your ugly ass tailing me." He paused, then added while pushing away from his car. "And I don't want your boyfriend to bitch-slap me."

"First off, the _last _person I'd 'tail' is you. Secondly, Sasuke doesn't bitch-slap. It's more like bitch-assassinate." We both walked toward the gym, where the loud cheers from the crowd inside spilled through the open doors.

"So you're really serious about this then." We stopped to pay for the tickets while I glanced up at Kiba, slowly blinking as he thanked the ticket girl and walked into the gym.

"About what?"

"You and Sasuke…you know, being together. You're really going to see if you two work out." At Kiba's question, I quietly looked out at the court that I knew Sasuke would be running on. He was as concentrated and refined as ever, probably thinking of a defensive attack in that big head of his. Despite his best efforts, his hair was slightly ruffled from the humidity that swelled in the confined space of the gym. If he wasn't in the middle of a basketball game, it could have been mistaken for sex hair. Or at least what I thought it'd look like, since I'd never had sex with him. The thought that would have made me puke months ago now brought a shiver through my body. That reaction alone gave me enough confidence to glance at Kiba and nod.

"Who else could take on the bastard?" My lips quirked slightly at the way Kiba rolled his eyes, knowing I had used that same answer for years explaining why I fought Sasuke. But somehow, somewhere along this messed up path, it all changed. And I was starting to get used to that more by the day.

"You are something else." Was all he said before jogging up the bleachers and toward what I could assume were our friends. The big brute's body blocked my sight, but I knew my assumption was correct when I heard Ino's cheering coming closer with every step.

"There you two are! Did you take a detour in Italy or what?" I laughed and moved to reply to Ino's comment, but stopped when a soft voice spoke.

"Does Naruto-kun even know what 'detour' means? Let's not get the little fishcake confused." My eye automatically twitched at the cheerful voice that I knew was nothing but annoying.

"God damnit, what is Sai doing here?! Shouldn't he be off kicking puppies and making babies cry?" Seeming to think I was kidding, Sai simply smiled at me from his spot next to Ino.

"I've come to cheer on our basketball team. Ino invited me during art, and I couldn't say no to such a beautiful girl." This time, it was the brunette on the other side of Ino that frowned at Sai. Not that I didn't react.

"Whatever, just stay away from me." As if to prove my point, I pushed on Kiba's shoulders to keep him in-between me and Sai when I sat down.

"I feel some animosity. Are you feeling okay?"

"Okay?! You _kissed _me without my permission, don't think I forgot that. Oh, and you called me a _uke_. Which I'm not damnit!" He blinked, as if I hadn't yelled at him for these exact things in the hallway a few days ago. Quietly, he turned his attention to the blonde girl who was laughing beside him.

"May we continue with our conversation? Naruto-kun's yelling is causing a headache." The urge to maim him was almost strong enough to overtake my sanity.

"Easy there killer," Kiba said, making sure that I wasn't going to jump over him to strangle Sai before he continued. "Just watch the game. You just missed a look from Sasuke."

"Huh?" Impossible is what I should have said. Sasuke never took his eyes off the court, I had heard about his concentration way too many times from Sakura and Ino to distrust that fact. And from the way he stared at the quick movements of the ball now, I didn't think he had time to look up here. "You're making up shit."

"I am not. Just watch, he's done it twice now. You must be his little good luck charm." I fumed silently at Kiba's teasing, but kept my eyes focused on Sasuke. For ten minutes I stared, not believing Kiba's words. But finally, I was forced to blink when I saw a casual glance up to the stands after Sasuke scored another two points for his team. What was that? Was Sasuke making sure I was paying attention? Why did he even care? The conversation with Ino earlier ran through my head, but I was hesitant to believe it. Was it really important to Sasuke that I came to one of his basketball games? And if so, why?

But after the third 'casual' look up my way, it clicked in my head. Sasuke was extremely talented at basketball, just as I was with cooking. He worked with Neji to make plays and formations just like I created new recipes. And games to Sasuke were like the times I had prepared meals for him. It was why he was so angry at me the first time I had commented about Neji's talent in basketball. If Sasuke had talked about someone else's cooking and said it was better than mine, I would do everything I could to prove him wrong. And I would monitor his reactions and expressions each time I made something new. In Sasuke's case, it was after every basket he shot.

Somehow, knowing Sasuke was just as concerned about me as I was about him made something inside of me tremble. Maybe it was the part of me that was still unsure of what Kiba had asked earlier. Even though Sasuke had been the one to technically start this relationship, a part of me wondered how serious he considered it. I had never seen Sasuke with someone else, but he hadn't been exactly open with us either. For all I knew, he could have had several past relationships he kept under wraps. A slight pain in my stomach only helped convince me I really didn't want to know. Still, I knew it was something I was going to eventually find out if I continued down the same path as Sasuke.

I just didn't expect it to be so soon.

As if someone had pressed fast-forward on my brain, I pulled myself out of my own head to watch the last two minutes of the game. Looking up at the scoreboard, I knew that we were going to win. Unless they had a machine that could score twenty points in two minutes, then we were qualified for the next game. Somehow, a part of me was bothered that I wasn't going to be able to go. Then again, I had only been to two of his games. I wondered for a second if he got disappointed when I didn't go.

"You really did good Sasuke! That last shot was so perfect, you didn't even touch the rim." Ino poured out her enthusiasm while we all moved from the now empty parking lot, which had been a cluster-fuck right after the game had ended. I guess waiting for Sasuke was a benefit for us in a way.

"Ino's right. W-We'll win the whole tournament if y-you keep playing like that." Even Hinata seemed to step out of her shell to compliment the quiet guy next to me.

"Possibly." While Ino's eagerness was apparent, you couldn't see Sasuke's with a microscope. Shikamaru seemed to be on the same level as the teme, but that was expected from him.

"We should have played on their lame team, Naruto. We could have run circles around that other team with our eyes blindfolded and our hands tied behind our backs." The adrenaline of watching our team win seemed to override the hesitancy of my sexuality for Kiba, who slung an arm around my shoulder and shook me. I couldn't help but laugh at him while basking in the feeling of the old gesture.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I know I'm great." As if I prove my point, I sent Kiba a cocky smirk while flexing my arm. The group laughed, excluding the two unenthusiastic boys that now leaned against their respective cars.

"In the story Pinocchio, his nose grew every time he lied. Apparently it doesn't work the same way for Naruto-kun." Did I forget to mention the asshole followed us? Maybe that was why Sasuke was in such a pissed off mood after winning such an important game. Then again, I could win a million dollars and still get angry at seeing Sai. He just had the effect on me.

"I wish I knew a story where the annoying kid got eaten by some type of monster and never came back," I muttered, glaring at the oblivious artist.

"Do we need to put you two in opposite corners?" Ino asked, sending us warning glances. I continued to glare for a second before giving up when he completely ignored me. "Are you two going to be like this for the rest of the year?"

"Aw come one Ino, let em fight. Nothing makes me happier than watching Naruto get his ass verbally kicked." I shot a look to Kiba before pouting, pushing through the group while I moved to lean again Sasuke's car. He arched an eyebrow when I brushed my arm against his, but I ignored it. It wasn't like it was the first time we had touched or anything.

"You all suck. Why do I bother hanging out with you?"

"Because we're the only ones who can deal with you." A scoff followed Kiba's remark.

"Some of you can."

"You bastard! You're supposed to be on my side." I swung to hit his arm, but he had always been a little quicker than me and I had to stop myself from slamming my fist into the side of his car.

"Stop being so loud." He scolded me like a child, so I responded by crossing my arms and sticking my tongue out. He didn't have time to respond before Ino suddenly gasped, stealing our attention.

"Oh no! I told dad that I was going to be home in ten minutes. Shika, we've gotta get going." To emphasis her point, she shook his arm until he sighed.

"Why are you telling me? Kiba drove us."

"Oh you're no help. Why do I even put up with you, you lazy bum!" She scowled at him and moved through the group and to the side of the car, slamming it harder than necessary after she got in.

"Your crazy girlfriend is going to ruin my car! This is the last time I drive." Kiba groaned and moved to the car, and I couldn't help but smirk at the pained look on dog-breath's face. Shikamaru sighed when loud yelling could be heard from inside the car.

"Guess this is my cue to leave. Coming Hinata?" The quiet girl nodded quickly and moved to the passenger's side of the car, Shikamaru following. It was right after he opened his door that something clicked in my head.

"Wait! You and Ino are dating?" It took Shika a moment to answer, slightly lowering my smile. But after another contemplating minute, Shikamaru spoke.

"You suggested it to her." He glanced over to my left, avoiding eye contact or to try and hide the slight discoloration of his face I was guessing. "You need a ride?"

"Yes please." I blinked once when I felt something warm press to my cheek, taking me a second to realize whose deceivingly happy voice answered Shika's question. I jumped back and cursed while trying to rub Sai's kiss from my face. He seemed quite pleased with his work, and I sent a glare that could kill. Sadly, it was blocked by a wall that magically appeared. I didn't need a brain scientist to figure out it was a person who now stood almost defensively in front of me.

"Don't touch." Sasuke's low voice (more like a growl, not that he would admit it if I asked) sent a shiver up my spine. I peeked over his shoulder to see Sai still smiling.

"I was simply telling the fishcake goodnight. I forgot how possessive you tended to be over your blonde-headed boyfriend." If there was one thing that I hated to admire about Sai, it was that he didn't seem intimidated by anything. Even the Uchiha glare, which took years for me to adapt to, seemed to be nothing more than a passing glance. Either he was extremely confident in himself, or he was more warped than I thought originally. I favored the second one when he spoke again. "Then again, he is very attractive for an idiot. You may wish to keep a careful eye on him, in case someone comes along and takes his short attention span from you."

"That won't happen." I should have been more upset than I was that the two were talking about me like a possession. I was standing right there after all! But some weird part of me enjoyed how Sasuke's lips scowled at the suggestion that Sai had made.

"Are you sure? After all, it was a few weeks ago that Naruto-kun was fawning over Ino's best friend. Who is to say that the incident won't repeat itself?" What was Sai trying to do? Did he _want _to start a fight with Sasuke? Despite being a complete asshole, Sai didn't look the type to engage in physical fights. Verbal seemed more his style. Still, the way he was edging Sasuke was almost as suspicious as the fake smile on his face. "Ah, I see I've hit a sore spot, Sasuke."

"What the hell are you yapping about?" I asked, finally finding an opportunity to speak. "What sore spot?"

"Nothing you need to know about, fishcake." I flushed in anger at the dumb nickname he had 'bestowed' on me.

"Stop calling me that you prick!" He seemed to ignore my comment to reflect on his own, and turned his black stare from my glare and back to the guy in front of me.

"Or maybe he should know. He is your boyfriend, for the moment." The way Sai put it clearly showed the underlying message of his words. Even I could see the lacking faith Sai had in me and Sasuke's relationship.

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms and spoke as if he was bored and not clenching his fists against the side of his arms. Normally, I wouldn't be able to see the motion since I stood in front of him. But being behind him gave me a whole new perspective, and I wondered just how many times he had used this pose to hide his true anger during our arguments. "You're a nuisance."

"I suppose I would be for someone like you. The lines of annoyance and truth can blur for someone who is hiding inside of their own insecurities." After the ominous answer, Sai waved and moved toward Kiba's car without so much as a cautious look back. If he had, I'm sure he would have seen the split reactions to his mumbo-jumbo.

"What kind of shit was that? I swear that kid's brain is the size of a peanut." I watched Kiba pull out of the parking lot, not moving from my spot until the red break lights disappeared behind the curve of the road. I didn't wait for Sasuke to respond as I moved past him, making my way toward the passenger side of his door. I yanked once on the door handle, not liking the fact that it was still locked. Slowly I looked up to Sasuke, who was still settled in his spot from before. "Hey, let's go already. I have to work tomorrow, and I wanna get my sleep on."

"Only an idiot would say something stupid like that." I blinked slowly when I realized that Sasuke didn't meet my gaze while speaking. It was almost as if he was speaking to himself instead of me. But he hadn't said a word since Sai had left, meaning he wasn't mentally berating himself. What the heck was going on in Sasuke's head tonight? I watched him finally move his legs to his side of the car, unlocking the doors for both of us without a word of explanation. Feeling uneasy with the strange way Sasuke clenched the steering wheel, I tried to figure out the answer to my own question.

It seemed like both of us were lost in our own heads, because the car ride was silent. The silence only increased my confusion. Sure Sasuke had a tendency to be silent until I started conversation. The kid seemed to only realize his vocal chords worked when someone else showed him by speaking first. Hell, it sometimes took two or three times before Sasuke would show some semblance of verbal skills. But this was different. Despite his mute-until-spoken-to tendency, he made non-verbal communication from the very beginning of the conversation. Whether it be a raised eyebrow or some type of scowl, Sasuke made sure to show he heard what was said. But before, when I stood by his car, Sasuke had done none of that. It was almost like the comment he made wasn't for me, but for some invisible person that only Sasuke saw. The thought bothered me enough to start another conversation when we moved into Sasuke's house.

"You need to take a shower." A wave of relaxation hit me and my shoulders released the tension inside of them when Sasuke turned his head in my direction. Knowing that this time I had his attention back from whatever what was bothering him; I jerked my thumb up toward the stairs. "I bet I could smell your stench from up there. Now take a shower before I chock on your odor."

"Stop with the dramatics." But to my delight, Sasuke made his way up the stairs and toward his bathroom. It wasn't that I minded his smell that much, but I knew that the time alone would give me more time to try and understand what had just happened in the parking lot. I moved up toward his room after a few minutes, knowing that he would be getting ready to shower in the bathroom by the time I fell back on his bed. I didn't bother to switch the light on, preferring to let the darkness ease me into my own thoughts. Quietly I replayed the night over in my head, from the glances Sasuke sent me all the way to the weird conversation with Sai in the parking lot. I flipped the conversations I had shared in my head, wondering just what it was that put Sasuke in such a strange mood.

But after five minutes of contemplating, I was lost. Like a puzzle, I had managed to put some pieces together in small, unconnected parts. I knew that the glances theory from before was right. I also knew that Sasuke was very possessive around Sai, which was expected. We were, after all, dating. But what did Sakura have to do with all of this? And what about Sai and Sasuke's out of place comments? How did they fit into all of this? Sighing loudly, I banged my head against the headboard of Sasuke's bed, ignoring the part of my brain that warned me about how sore my head would be the next morning.

"Sore…" I slowly opened my eyes, remembering another part of the conversation that had slipped my mind. Sai had said Sasuke had a 'sore spot' that I needed to know about. But what the hell was it? I remembered that he said it right after the Sakura comment, but that wasn't aimed at Sasuke. If anything, he was just making fun of how infatuated I had been with Sakura. That was a while ago, back before I had liked Sasuke. Or…well, they crossed for a little while. But once Sakura had ended any possible chance of us getting together, the focus unwillingly shifted to Sasuke. I laughed silently at the realization that for a few short days, Sasuke, Sakura and I had truly been in a triangle. I had been head over heels for Sakura, who couldn't keep herself off of Sasuke. And Sasuke had started to like me, probably before I had even started to realize how…I felt for…him.

"Wait. Wait wait wait!" I shot up so fast from the bed, I had to grab my head from the blood rush I got. But even with the pain, my thoughts were suddenly slamming and pressing together to mess the pieces into place. I didn't waste time pushing to my feet, running across the large room to rip open the door of the bathroom. I made no effort to keep my arrival quiet, but nearly slipped on the bathroom floor when I realized what I had just walked into.

My head was so filled with every other thought that I forgot the glass doors Sasuke had in his shower. The rich always went for the nice looking glass over the tacky curtains. The only negative effect (for only Sasuke at this particular moment) was that with style came lack of privacy. I hated that I felt my eyes widen at the fact that the practically invisible door left nothing to the imagination. His pale leg was conveniently placed in front of himself, sparing me an even bigger distraction. But it still didn't hide the fact that was both completely naked and wet. Somewhere in the back of my head, I was reminding myself it was normal to shower naked. Still, the whole mind process thing wasn't quite as strong right now as it was before.

Despite the fact that I was the one completely clothed and dry, my cheeks were the ones that flushed when a heated glare was sent my way.

"What are you doing?" His voice echoed from the shower, but still sounded as demanding as ever. The reasons and questions that had once filled my head were now gone, proving Sai's point of my short attention span. But seriously, anyone that had a naked Sasuke in a shower wouldn't be able to think quite properly either.

"I…" That was a good start. At least my mouth was still able to form words. But this was a completely new step for the both of us, since we had never been completely naked in front of the other. Even during the intimate moments we shared, clothes were kept mostly in tack. Swallowing once, I shook my head and used whatever came into my head as an excuse as to why I just barreled into Sasuke's shower. "I wa-wanna shower."

"I'm not done yet, idiot." Only Uchiha Sasuke could out-argue me while standing naked in a shower. He stared at me as if challenging me to think of another answer to back up my random actions. But for some reason, my brain seemed quite content with this one.

"Uh…with you!" That caught the unusually calm guy off guard.

"What?"

"Yeah! I mean… we'll be saving water and…uh…that's good, I've heard. Plus, boyfriends shower all the time together, right? And…and we're together and stuff. So uh…yeah, intimacy and showers kind of work…mesh together." Toward the end of the conversation, my voice trailed into a mumble of embarrassment. I blamed it on the fact that his leg moved slightly, and I could tell that his dark hair was natural. Not that I ever doubted it, but confirmation was always good.

"You're being stupid." I jerked my head up to argue, but stopped when I realized the way he glared to try and hide the faint flushing of his face. I couldn't help but grin at the fact I could get that reaction from Sasuke. Sure, I was almost positive I looked like a tomato, but that seemed to be an easy task. Sasuke, on the other hand, certainly was an achievement I basked in each time I did it. As if reading my arrogant thoughts, Sasuke jerked his leg quickly into place as he snapped. "Who said I wanted to share a shower with you?"

"Well why wouldn't you?"

"Because I have to deal with you enough. Having you invade my personal shower is more irritation than I want." By now his damn leg continued to switch between relaxing and tensing, stirring my hormones in a way that bothered me. I really didn't like how deeply his newly exposed skin affected me.

"If I get naked, are you going to let me in?" I jerked my gaze up after the blunt comment, staring with determination at him. He fell silent, but it only lasted for a few seconds before he scoffed.

"Your manners rival a Neanderthal." The insult didn't bother me quite so much when he pushed forwards to open the shower door to me, a puff of heat hitting my face. The invitation actually surprised me, and it took one glare a few seconds later to get me moving in my undressing. It felt strange, undressing in front of someone. Knowing it was Sasuke only added hesitation when I started to tug down my boxers. I tried to ignore the nervous thumping in the bottom of my stomach, staring at the red fabric that now pooled at my feet. I didn't hide myself, knowing I had no reason to. My body was fine, and I had never had a problem with my size or anything stupid like that. The nerves were coming from the fact that I was about to enter a very intimate situation with the one person I never expected to be intimate with. Inhaling the steam around me, I turned my head to see Sasuke watching my moves.

In the back of my head, I knew this wasn't going to end nicely. Being naked, wet, and slightly flustered with your significant other reeked sexuality. I ignore the shiver I felt when my feet stepped into the warm water pooling at the bottom of the shower, barely brushing Sasuke's chest with my shoulder. The shower was roomy, and gave me and Sasuke plenty of room to stay away from each other. I turned to the shower head and wet my hair while mentally scoffing at the idea. My hormones were already simmering, but I tried not to think of them. Instead, I let my mind rewind back to the reason I had come into the bathroom to begin with. And like magic, the memory clicked into place.

"I've never done this before." I looked back at him from over my shoulder, as if I needed some type of reassurance that he was listening. Easily I found his gaze, which was much more concentrated than I remembered. "Have you?"

"That's a stupid question." In a way, I agreed with him. But I wanted to make sure that all of our cards were out on the table before we lost our minds to…other parts of our bodies.

"I've wanted to, though. You know, I just expected it to be with a girl." This time, it took a moment for Sasuke to answer.

"Understandable." We switched positions then, my eyes lingering on the way Sasuke's back muscles moved while he rubbed the body wash into his cloth. For the first time in my life, I was quiet long enough to make Sasuke ask his own question. "Is there a purpose to this pointless information?"

"I used to think it'd be Sakura." What most would consider nothing, I saw as a huge reaction. Sasuke stilled in his washing, staring at the cloth that lay frozen on his arm. It only lasted a few seconds, but I could tell how badly that seemed to affect him. Still, his voice was normal when he responded.

"Stop wasting my time, dobe."

"But I don't anymore."

"I don't care."

"That's a bullshit lie!" He looked back at me in a way that showed he dared me to prove it. "I didn't understand what the hell you and Sai were talking about before. It didn't really make sense to me until I really thought about it. But now, I get it."

"There's nothing to understand. Sai was no—"

"Sai was saying that you're scared I'm going to leave you. And I think you are." His eyes darkened dangerously and if I was anyone else, I may have been afraid of pushing Sasuke too far. But luckily I wasn't, and I continued when I knew he wanted me to stop. "You think just because I started to get all mixed up with you while I still liked Sakura that I can do the same damn thing with you. That's why you get so jealous and possessive when Sai comes around! Because he kissed me right under your nose and you've created some crazy idea that I'm going to take off with the asshole. Or maybe with Sakura again, I don't know what goes on in that weird head of yours."

"I don't pay attention to Sai."

"You did tonight."

"Was he wrong?" The question caught my off guard, and I opened my mouth before I realized I had nothing to say. As if clarifying the question would make me answer, he reworded it. "Are you implying you couldn't repeat your cycle with Sakura with another relationship?"

"Of course I can't! What are you, stupid?" I snapped quickly, taking a defiant step closer to Sasuke. "You don't understand anything. Sakura was Sakura, and you are you. She was pretty, smart, violent, funny, and extremely cranky in the morning. You're annoying, a bastard, a perfectionist, smart, and a total teme! You are two different people, and I'll treat you differently. So don't go off trying to compare yourself to Sakura like Sai did, because it's completely different.

"I liked Sakura, yeah. So what? She's not you! I don't…I never…with her, I didn't feel completely _right_. And…for some messed up reason, I do with you. That's why I'm not with her in some random shower. I don't have to change or kiss your ass like I did with Sakura. I can just be myself and…and it's good. I like it. Hell I'm even starting to really like you! Don't you get that? If I felt the same with you as I did with her, why would I bother going through all the messed up shit I have for you? Use that god damn brain of yours!"

I raised my hand to knock some sense into him, but a wet hand wrapped around my wrist and jerked me forward into a kiss. Maybe I expected it, because the shiver that went up my spine was pleasure and not shock. My eyes lidded themselves at the talented mouth that now controlled mine. After playing nice for a few seconds I pressed forward, disliking being passive to Sasuke. Somehow my words got through his stubborn head, because he didn't let the negative thoughts stop him from parting my lips with his tongue. I shivered when his unoccupied hand grasped my hand, slipping a bit lower to brush the wet skin of my thigh. Unwillingly I groaned into his mouth, and swatting the hand from its resting spot while I jerked back from the kiss. My hand wiped along my mouth, trying to hide the quick intakes of breath to control my erratic heartbeat.

"You talk too much," he mumbled against my mouth. I growled in protest while sliding my hand into his hair, jerking his mouth down to mine for another battle. I sighed quietly into his mouth when he tensed and pulled away, not liking the lack of preparation.

"Yeah well, you're a bastard." Setting my sights a little lower, I dared to slide my mouth down the wet slope of his throat. I caught his pulse inside of my lips, feeling it flutter with life and arousal. I moved closer to get better access to his throat, but my own breath caught when I felt his body slide against mine. The pleasure sparked inside of me, and instantly my hips jerked closer to his. From above I heard him hiss from unexpected pleasure, and I buried my head into his neck while continuing to experiment with the pressing of our naked bodies. The water provided a weak lubricant, encouraging our bodies to slide against each other while our heavy breathing mingled with the rush of water pricking our skin. I wasn't sure if the water was cold from the length of time we spent in the shower or the fact our bodies were rising in temperature. Probably a little of both, but my head was too muddled to think of that as a possibility.

Sasuke seemed to find the cold water a problem as well. Wrapping an arm around my waist to keep my body flush against his, he caught my mouth again while reaching back and knocking the dial to a higher temperature. The change made my gasp into the connection of our mouths, which he used in order to taste the inside of my mouth. I grasped his shoulders when a hard thrust of his hips sent my mind into a hazy pool of pleasure, the water helping fog my head. The water caused my grip to slip down his chest, and an interesting noise pressed into my mouth when my palm scraped his nipple. Enjoying the slight power I held over him, I tweaked his nipple before brushing my thumb against the hardening bud. He pulled back from my mouth, probably to scold me for doing something without his permission. I didn't give him time.

"_Dobe_." The low growl of his insult only made me smirk against the nub in my mouth, which I stroked with my tongue once before sucking. From the tremble in his body, I knew he enjoyed it despite his lack of control. Seizing the opportunity, I slid my hand to the other side of his chest, mirroring my tongue with my thumb. Unable to predict the dueling pleasure he was exposed to, Sasuke hissed through his teeth and grabbed my shoulders hard. I ignored it, wandering away from his hardened nipple to taste the rest of Sasuke's skin. Despite the smell of cinnamon that I had come to know as Sasuke, his mouth was the only part that mirrored in taste. Still, the skin that trembled under my mouth tasted uniquely like Sasuke, which was enough to lead me to my knees while I ghosted my lips against his bare hip. He jumped suddenly at the action, and I grinned up at him while sliding my tongue against the sensitive part of his body.

"Like that?" I instantly regretted voicing my thoughts, because his body tensed before he grabbed my hair and pulled me back slightly. I yelped at the sharp pain, which slightly dulled the sexual need that had been coursing through my veins.

"Ge…Get up." His voice, for once, was shaken. For some reason, the lack of control that Sasuke seemed to exhibit when losing control only seemed to help reignite the arousal that was loss at the hair tug. I didn't budge, shaking my head in his hand while I spoke.

"No." His glare told me he wasn't happy, but I didn't give him time to douse my hope of chipping away at his physical paranoia. "For a minute. I just wanna…" I had to endure the blush I knew was rising to my cheeks as I spoke. "I just want to touch you. I mean, you do it f-for me and shit. If….if you don't like it, I'll stop. But just trust me."

"…I won't like it." But the way his skin seemed to arch into my heavy breathing showed his body was quite satisfied with my mouth so far. I waited for him to let go of my hair, which took much longer than I thought possible. Once his fingers untangled themselves, I returned to teasing the sensitive spot on his hip. I enjoyed the slight spasms of his hips when I would suck on the soft skin, and I used the pleasure as a distraction to slide my hand along the inside of his thigh. Once my fingers quietly crawled their way up his leg to curl around his hardened arousal, I heard a rush of breath escape from the skin underneath my lips, which were now quietly nibbling along his happy trail. Assured that he wasn't telling me to stop, I slowly start to run my fingers along the hot skin of his cock.

I felt amazed at how his arousal pulsed in my hand and quickly twitched when my thumb skimmed his tip. I stole a glance up at him when his groan caught my attention. It almost stopped my stroking when I saw the pleasure that Sasuke unintentionally let linger on his face. Lips slightly parted, his heavy breathing was flushing his face in a way that made my body harden. Quickly turning my attention back to the pre-cum that lined Sasuke's tip, I dipped down to slip my tongue against the creamy skin of his thigh. At the intimate touch I felt his muscle tense underneath my questing lips, and fingers tightened on my shoulders when I trailed my lips quietly up his skin. It was when my breath brushed along the outside of his cock that I felt my own hesitancy grip me. Quietly I grabbed his untouched thigh, pushing his stance wider while swallowing the nerves that had tried to creep into my stomach. If Sasuke wasn't pushing me away, if Sasuke was _trusting _me, there was no way I was going to stop.

The noise that spilled from Sasuke's lips was my reward while dipping my mouth down to taste him. His taste was bitter, and had nothing on Ramen. But I felt myself shiver when the hands that had been struggling to push my shoulders away now pulled me in to help maneuver my mouth closer to him. I smirked faintly before closing my eyes, using my hand on his thigh to help balance while I moved. Awkwardly I swallowed, feeling the increasing pulsing shift against my lips. I struggled to breathe through my nose, using my free hand to stroke the parts of his arousal that I couldn't reach. By now his mouth wasn't able to silence the noises that continued to slip through his lips, nor still his quivering hips. His head was tilted against the shower wall while his hands now tried to grasp onto the slippery surface behind him.

It was then Sasuke's behavior changed. I swiped my tongue against his tip, and quietly a cry slipped past Sasuke's lips as he tried to pull his hips back. Confused, I pulled his hips back to me, ignoring the slight tensing of his body to suckle the tip of his cock. Suddenly, two hands fisted into my hair and yanked me back hard. Sasuke's heavy breathing accompanied a lust-filled glare.

"I meant…stop, idiot." His legs wavered, and I could see him sliding slightly down the wall before he pressed harder back to stop the movement. I wiped the back of my hand against my mouth, swallowing my extra saliva before I spoke.

"What do you mean, stop? Am I…you can't expect me to be all that great at this! It-it's my first time damnit!"

"Sh-shut up." His eyes closed as he tried to control his breathing, and I blinked once before suddenly realizing why Sasuke had stopped me.

"Wait were…you about to come?" If he had known the heat that was obvious in his glare, he probably would have kept his eyes shut. I scowled before I pushed his hands out of my hair, ignoring the start of his protest as I slid my fingers against the side of his arousal. When he jerked and hissed, I knew that I was right. I felt another tug against my hair to demand I stop any touching, but I pretended I didn't feel it to resume my fingers' rocking along his cock. His thigh trembled against my arm, and nearly buckled when I increased my sloppy hand jerking. I looked up to see he was barely keeping his eyes open to glare at me, mouth parted as if wanting to say something. But when nothing came out, I spoke. "I'm going to finish this. And you're going to like it, teme."

I pushed up quickly, using his opened mouth as an opportunity to kiss him without his permission. He fought back as usual, despite his hips willingness to thrust into my hand. His thigh lay between my legs, and I groaned when the soft skin rubbed hard into my own arousal. Watching Uchiha Sasuke lose control because of _me _had been better than porn, and now my body was painfully reminding me of my own need to release. Shamelessly I ground against his skin while pushing him to his limit, despite the grab I felt on my shoulder to push me away. I jerked back from the kiss to shake my head and breathe heavily against his ear.

"Why do-don't you trust me li-like this?" Despite the fact that my voice was breathy and weak from unspent lust, I knew he understood by the way his fingers gripped tighter onto my shoulder. A shudder rang through his body when my thumb pressed along his slit, and I could hear the slight lack of control he had over his voice when he spoke.

"You want me…to trust you?" Unprepared, I yelped when what I thought I had control over suddenly flew out of my hands. It took me a minute to get a bearing of my new position, which was on the floor of the shower. The water was hitting Sasuke's back, the teme now towering over me from between my legs. Water dripped from his hair, splashing and rolling down the side of my cheek. By now we were both breathing heavy, as if we had just run a marathon. "Then trust me."

"H-huh?" What the hell was he talking about? I wasn't the one with issues here! I slid my hand up to check his forehead for unnatural heat, but he grabbed my hand and pressed it to the floor . Silently, almost as if he was sizing me up, Sasuke kept his gaze locked on me. Then, without warning, I felt my world shift again as the sound of the water stopped and I was thrown into the coldness outside of the bathroom. No, wait, not thrown. _Carried_ like a damn baby! Despite the painful hard-on that was begging me to just go with whatever the pleasure provider was doing, I squirmed to try and slip my way out of his touch. Sasuke, however, didn't seem to like that plan and refused to release me until he dumped me onto his bed. Completely disliking the fact my own game had been turned around on me, I turned to watch him return to his 'place' between my parted thighs.

"You-" He pressed his mouth to mine, and I shivered at how good it felt to have his naked torso skim my skin. "Continue to…pester me about trusting you. Then show me you trust me."

"I do trust you, moron," I snapped back, but didn't pull away from the tingling sensation I felt whenever his lips brushed mine during our conversation.

"Completely."

"Uh…yeah." I stared up to watch something (which I would have sworn was hesitation if it was anyone but him) light his eyes before letting them darken again. His hand pressed to my cheek while his other grabbed the side of my thigh, lifting my leg until it rested awkwardly against his waist. Unwillingly I felt my cheeks flush while my eyes widened in shock, unsure if I could believe what I thought Sasuke was asking. "Sa…suke?"

"I believe you've never done this before." He could have used the word 'trust' just as easily, but Sasuke was feeling just as vulnerable in this situation as I felt with my body open to his touch.

"Co-Course not! You're my first uh…this is…new to me." He nodded but didn't meet my gaze, focusing on something underneath me. Secretly glad he didn't look up, I leaned back on my elbows and looked up at the ceiling to try and ignore the racing of my heartbeat. Sasuke was asking me to take the final step with him. Kiba's question came rushing back to me for the millionth time that night, asking me if I planned on really staying with Sasuke. The bastard, who I had kicked, punched, bit, and fought with for as long as I could remember. And now, after all of that, I was here. Laying naked on his bed, letting my thighs be pushed apart by the same hands that had bruised me several times. But it didn't matter now. Why didn't it matter? Because I loved…

And it was then, in that weird moment, that I felt my heart stop and my eyes shoot open to stare at the ceiling as if the answer was written above me. Not that I needed to see it, since I had felt it strong enough to send my entire body into trembles. I tried to think, to realize just when it was that this entire relationship turned into the one thing that I never thought was possible with someone like Sasuke.

All focus, however, was lost when Sasuke's hand reignited the arousal that now rushed through my veins. I gasped, unprepared for the onslaught of physical and emotional pleasure. It was like a high, like somehow a drug had enhanced the feeling of slim digits slipped against my oversensitive skin. I swore when the blistering pleasure coiled with a feeling of pain and awkwardness. Slamming my eyes shut, I tried not to realize the pain was coming from two pale digits slipping inside of my body. After all, it was everything I had denied since our first therapy session with Kakashi. But instead of complaining or kicking out like a child, I bit my lip and tried to muffle any growls of pain. The realization of my feelings somehow made the idea of being bottom less humiliating. Both arms shook under the pressure it took to keep my body up, and the remaining shower water mixed with the sweat that was starting to form on my trembling body.

The same movements that had caused pain now provoked pleasure, burning my body with the need to finish. By now the noise coming from my mouth was incoherent, and I finally grabbed his wrist to stop the rocking of his fingers. Panting, I sent him the most demanding look I could muster while I spoke.

"S-stop fucking around a-and do this." If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he pressed his fingers once more inside of me, watching my back arch like a bow, before he removed them. I winced when he pressed his body back to mine, closing my eyes to try and ignore the swelling of nerves inside of my stomach. A part of my head was still screaming at me for even allowing Sasuke to go as far as he had. Was I crazy? This was _sex_. Real sex. Not something that I could ever just ignore or pretend didn't happen. I was going to have sex with Sasuke. The nagging voice of reason almost made me push him away.

"Naruto." As if he asked, I opened my eyes to look up at him. One hand closing the bottle of whatever he had used as a lubricant, the other pressed to the pillow under my head. I could feel the pillow shaking slightly, but it wasn't from me. Sasuke was just as nervous as I was, he just hid it better. My breath came harshly when I felt his tip press against me, but it didn't go any further. This time, I was sure it was hesitation that filled his facial features when he sighed and barely pulled back. "Dobe…"

"Sasuke," I replied, not wasting time in grabbing his neck and pulling him down for a short kiss. Then pulling back enough to speak, I made sure to be as blunt as I ever had been before. "You stop, and I'll fucking kill you. _Trust me._"

"Hn." If the uncertainty was ever there, it was gone the second he snorted. Suddenly he pushed forward, and I swore from the sudden movement inside of me. I grasped his shoulder and neck tightly, as if they were the only thing keeping me alive. I wasn't sure what the feeling was. Pain, pleasure, and a fullness that left me both uncomfortable and squirming for more. A slow breath curled around my ear, easily heightening the pleasure inside of me. "You'd try."

"S-Shut up!" It was the last coherent thing I said. Sasuke wasn't any better once we started to move, already aroused from the foreplay in the shower. Never before had I felt as good and vulnerable at the same time. My arms wrapped around the back of his shoulders while jerking my body up to meet his thrusts, quickly getting lost in the feeling of Sasuke. The time we spent together was irreverent, because it felt too fast and too slow at the same time. Several times I was left gasping for breath when his tip rubbed deep inside of me and hit my prostate. Kisses were fast and common, as if we couldn't seem to forget that all of this sexual tension was introduced through a kiss in some parking lot. A kiss was how we jumped from rivals to something neither one of us could have expected.

The only thing that the sex was lacking was time. Too young, hormonal, and worked up to even realize it, I felt ready to slip off the edge despite my need to press harder against him. Ragged breathing scorched underneath my ear, and it was then that I realized that I was having sex with Sasuke. Not Sakura or any other girl I had ever dreamed about. But the kid that I had always been with but never wanted to. And that thought, accompanied with a broken version of my name was mumbled into the air, sent me flying. White blurred my vision to the point where I thought I had passed out. My body flailed like a fish, and I dug my nails deeply into Sasuke's shoulder to keep from slipping. Away from what, I wasn't sure, but in my mind I was slipping. The pleasure took over time, and it seemed like hours before I finally fell back onto the bed. I was sweaty, sticky, and in need of another shower that I would take as soon as my legs were able to function properly.

My eyes languidly opened after a soft pressed was pressed to my chest, and it took me a minute to realize it was Sasuke. Really, the kid wasn't as heavy as I thought he was going to be. Despite the fact that his hair was causing an itch at the top of my chest, I couldn't find the strength to move him. I doubted he could either; otherwise he wouldn't let himself stoop so low as to lay on me without being asleep. Our breathing had calmed down, but it was the only noise in the room. I half expected us to fall asleep after working out so hard like every other sex story ever written. Sleeping after sex was an escape. It meant there was no awkward conversation or questions. No strange comments and glances to body parts that weren't quite seen during the act. And by morning, one could escape before the other even woke up.

"Get up." I shouted when I was shoved off of the bed, hitting the floor hard and groaning at the feeling of pain. Glaring up to my 'sex partner', I knew there was no remorse in his actions. Instead, he continued to pull back the sheets that had been half stripped from our earlier activities.

"You're changing that _now_? You couldn't wait ten minute? My body's still a little sore from you," I muttered, pushing myself back to my feet. By the time I had my footing; Sasuke was already walking toward the door with the soiled sheets.

"Go take another shower." He replied, completely ignoring my comment. Somehow, I felt hurt instead of angry. Still, I tried to make my anger convincing.

"If you were going to act like this afterwards, why'd you even bother to do it? You're not just supposed to leave after you…share something like that." Why I said that instead of trying some type of insult I didn't know. Quietly he stopped at the door, slowly turning his head back to face me. He wasn't glaring or scowling, just simply looking at me in a way that made me squirm.

"Because I trust you to be here when I come back." There was a pause before he added more. "And I…like you. A lot." It was the first time Sasuke had ever admitted his feelings verbally to me. I knew my eyes widened slightly at the response, and for once I didn't have any reply. Seeming satisfied, if not a bit uncomfortable, by his own comment, Sasuke turned away from me and left with another word. On the outside, I looked like a gaping fish.

On the inside, I had fallen a little more in love with him.

**Well, that was a long work in progress. It's 33 pages, and over 11,000 words long! I hope that you liked it, and I am really terribly sorry for the huge wait. I stayed up till 2am to get this chapter out to all of you, so sorry if there are mistakes in spelling and grammar. OH! And I know that normally I do review replies for the chapter, but I don't think I'd ever get the chapter out if I did them for this chapter. I'm just going to say for all of those people who did review, thank you so much for the time you spent waiting for me and I am so thankful that you have been so supportive. I know that I promised this a week ago, but better late than never, right? Terribly terribly sorry! **

**So…Naruto and Sasuke had sex. What is next for their relationship? What will Naruto do now that he's realized his love for Sasuke? Does Sasuke love him back? What will happen with Itachi and Sasuke? And with only a few chapters left of the story, how will it all end? Find out next time! Thanks a lot! **


	17. The Little Things that Show True Love

Hey everyone! Yeah I know that I said that this chapter wouldn't be out until the 15th, but my mom let me use her computer so now I'm back in business! I'm so glad to be back and writing again, I've missed all of the good feelings that I've felt with you guys. =) I managed to work through my last chapter and a whole one-shot, so I hope that this goes well. If you haven't read my new one-shot, GO READ IT! –growls- and don't whine about it being NaruSasu until you read it. =)

So I know that I said there were only two chapters left of this story, but I made a tiny mistake…after consulting with my editor Rachel, I've decided….

This is the last chapter. There will be an epilogue after this chapter, but I decided to combine the two chapters since they were so small and make it into a big ending. So I just want to say thank you to everyone who has stuck through this story and left me words of encouragement. I hope that this ending is everything you wanted and more. I'm actually really sad writing this, but I hope you all enjoy and keep reading my stuff! =)

**Warning: ****Well…it's the last chapter….expect angst and happiness and tears and hugs and kangaroos…well, maybe not that last thing….**

**Disclaimer: ****Despite what some of you have said, I do not own Naruto….really, I don't! **

**The Little Things that Show True Love**

Everyone told me that sex changes a relationship. As if it has a magical power, the relationship will shift. For better or for worse was never promised. I guess it depended on who was in the relationship or some shit like that. Being together for only a few days made the changes even worse, according to the same people. It went on to say that you didn't know your significant other well enough to have sex if you've only been with them for a week. Being intimate in such a short amount of time was taboo for your relationship.

But, as I made my way through scrounging up a breakfast (really, when was the last time Sasuke went shopping? The ice age?) for us, I got to thinking about all of the information I had heard. Who was 'everyone'? And how did they know about me or Sasuke anyways? I remember listening to Ino and Sakura read from their all-knowing magazines and trying to memorize their words for my 'future' relationship with Sakura. Several of them agreed that sex in a new relationship was like burning down the first floor of a house. An easy way to collapse the relationship.

"You're slow." The quiet mumble next to my ear made me jump enough to crash my shoulder into the chin behind me. I would have felt bad, if not for the fact that he was creeping into my personal space way too early in the morning. I turned to face him, laughing at the red mark that was easily seeable underneath his chin. He, however, did not find it quite as funny. "Idiot."

"Shut up before I pour your breakfast down the drain." His look proved just how weak he knew the threat was before he turned toward the fridge, pulling out a container of orange juice. I watched him for a second, remembering the mental conversation I was having before Sasuke barged in. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, in my opinion. Sure, we hadn't really talked about Friday night, but what was there to say? Sex was pretty self-explanatory.

It was the feelings that were a little confusing. Even now, observing how the teme's stoic nature clashed with the wacky morning hair he was wearing, I felt something warm shift inside of my stomach. I couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same. Several times, I had caught myself staring at him Saturday. Was it an effect of the sex, or…something else? Could I really have, somehow, fallen in love with Sasuke? I wasn't sure if that was feasible. And even if I had, what did he think about our relationship? Was it even possible for an Uchiha to love someone romantically? Sasuke's parents got married and had children, yeah. But were they ever in love?

"Who?" I blinked once at Sasuke's question before I froze. Did I say that out loud? As if reading my mind, Sasuke answered. "Yes, you did. Flip the food."

"Gah!" I jerked back to the pan, quickly saving the breakfast I had forgotten about. Letting out a sigh of relief that it hadn't burnt, I glanced over my shoulder to see Sasuke leaning on the other side of the island, watching me. I laughed nervously, from the almost lost food or from the word slip, I wasn't sure. Knowing the last thing Sasuke liked to do was talk about his parents, I changed the subject. "What are you doing up so early? And dressed? Normally you never get up on weekends!"

"Hn."Maybe I had made a mistake. From the way Sasuke glared out the window, I could tell something wasn't right. Great, just what I needed. A pissed off Sasuke ten minutes after he woke up. Before I could make any move to try and change the subject again, he spoke. "We're going out today."

"Out? Out where?"

"To see my brother." If I had been drinking something, I would have spit it out. As it was, I nearly fell over in shock. The only thing that kept me from ending up on the floor was the fact that I needed to get the food off the oven. Using it as an excuse to distract myself, I faintly remembered Sasuke promising to go see Itachi at our last session. But now? I would have thought it was a joke if not for the fact that it was Sasuke I was talking about. I don't think the kid even know what the word 'kidding' meant. Somehow I managed to think of a reply as I turned back to him with the cooling food, offering a shaky plate to him. I couldn't understand why I was the nervous one, especially when it was his brother.

"When? Cause uh…I need to work and stuff tonight."

"After breakfast." How he managed to speak of it like it was grocery shopping instead of visiting Itachi, I didn't know. Still, even if he didn't show it, I knew he wasn't as calm as he tried to be. I mean, he had to be nervous. After everything that had come out the last time we talked about Itachi, I knew that there was no closure. So I didn't say another word about it. The rest of our breakfast was completely silent, though I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. I didn't really know what had made Sasuke decide that today was a good time to go see Itachi, but I knew better than to ask. If he noticed the sudden silence that followed us into the car ride, he didn't comment. Maybe he preferred it. He had always said that he found my voice annoying, and that was the last thing he needed while he drove toward the Suna mental institution.

The chill was almost identical to the first time I walked into the hospital. The only difference was that I couldn't comment on it. Well I could, but I didn't take my chances with the silent bastard next to me. I looked around to see if I recognized any of the help, but I hadn't spent a lot of time looking at them the first time I came. What I did know was that we had come around the same time I had before, meaning that Itachi wouldn't be able to see us yet.

"Hn." It was the only reply I had gotten when I had informed Sasuke about the situation. I was half expecting the confident bastard to demand to see his brother immediately. Instead he moved to sit down in the waiting room, letting me inform the front desk about which patient we were coming to see. Just like before, it seemed to come as a surprise to the nurse that Itachi was getting a visit. I tried to ignore it and joined Sasuke for another ten minutes of quiet. I couldn't read his face, but that was normal. Sasuke tended to hide his emotions better than a wall when he concentrated. From the way the nurse that led us toward Itachi's hospital room stayed close to me, I could tell she was put off by how quiet he was being.

"Take your time." Despite her words, she practically ran from the door before I had time to thank her. I watched her quickly disappear behind the corner of the hallway within seconds. Not wasting time thinking about it, I turned back toward the door to open it. My hand, however, was stopped when Sasuke caught my wrist and pulled me back.

"Wait."

"For what?" My head glanced back over my shoulder, watching how slowly the stoic act started to crack. His eyes were the first to leak his obvious nerves. I couldn't help but be shocked. Was _the _Uchiha Sasuke showing his nervousness? I had never seen him as tense as he was today! I would have made fun of him if I thought he would let me live.

"We're not staying long." By now, the mask had slipped away from his mouth, which continued to switch between tightly pressed lips and an irritated scowl. His arms moved up to cross over his chest in an attempt to show he didn't care. Really it only emphasized his feelings.

"Way to go in with a positive attitude."

"I don't need one when dealing with him." The venom in his voice made snakes look cuddly.

"He's still your brother," I replied slowly, knowing he didn't like my statement by the tensing of his shoulders. My body turned to him, and I took a chance when I flipped my hand to grasp his. Not used to intimacy, I felt his hand pull back from instinct. "And I'm not leaving, you know. I'll be there for all of it, with you."

"I never said I needed you." But he did, really. He needed me more than he wanted to admit. So when he pushed open the door, I didn't comment about his fingers slipping between mine in an unbreakable hold. He barely walked three steps into the room before stopping, barely giving me room to close the door. The quiet click that came with shutting the door caught Itachi's attention. Yet again, a book lay in Itachi's lap, and I started to realize that everything was routine here. No wonder all of the nurses were so thrown off by us. It added a slight bump into their routine day.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. What a surprise you've brought me." It was like watching two armies line up across from each other. The air was thick with animosity and other strong emotions, yet neither side showed it. The space felt more like miles instead of feet, and in the back of my head I wondered if bringing the Uchihas together was a good thing.

"I didn't bring him. He said he wanted to come." From the look Sasuke gave me, you'd think it was a lie. But really, I didn't even know where we were going till he spit it out at the breakfast table. I scowled back at him, crossing my arms while I continued. "I'm pretty much immune to the Uchiha glare, you know."

"You need an 'off' button." I would have replied with a comment that would start another argument, but I was thrown off by something I thought I'd never see. For the first time, I witnessed Itachi smile. From the way Sasuke was standing, I knew he didn't see it. After all, it even took me a minute to realize what I was seeing, and by the time I was done the evidence had disappeared. Still, there was no doubt in my mind that I had seen the elder Uchiha smile.

"Did you come here to simply argue with Naruto-kun? I would have thought your manners had increased over time, Sasuke." For four long years, I thought that I was the only person who could make Sasuke's eye twitch in irritation. Itachi was easily proving me wrong.

"You can't use manners with a Neanderthal such as the idiot. I assume you've come to realize his lack of intelligence from your previous meeting." I would have been pissed at Sasuke's insult if not for the anger that laid underneath his seemingly passive reply. And from the tenseness in his body while he sharply turned to face Itachi, I knew it wasn't because of me. What I had once seen as a perfect opportunity to step in suddenly didn't seem quite so inviting. Instead, I struggled to keep quiet while I watched the conversation that had been long overdue.

"Then what are your reasons for coming to see me?"

"It's none of your concern."

"That's where you're wrong, little brother." Sasuke's lips pulled back into a grimace, as if Itachi's words burned him. The motion was fleeting, and the stoic façade fell back over his face while he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I highly doubt it. My intentions are not important."

"Oh? I suppose I could understand your secrecy. Your…friend did speak quite thoroughly about your isolated personality." Itachi said it casually, dropping the stare that had been locked with Sasuke in order to flip the page of his book. The room fell silent, occasionally broken by a soft page turn. Sasuke's glare never left Itachi, and Itachi didn't bother to acknowledge it. If the silence was bothering me as badly as it was, I could only imagine what it was doing to the two Uchihas in front of me. After spending so many years apart from each other, I knew I couldn't let this be how it all ended. And when I saw Sasuke's foot quietly step back toward the door, I knew he was planning on leaving the conversation as broken as their relationship was. Nothing was resolved. The two acted more like business partners instead of long lost brothers.

"Tell him what you told me!" I was loud, shattering the silence before Sasuke could take another step toward the door. Both pair of black eyes looked up to me, and if I was anyone but Uzumaki Naruto, I would have possibly cried and ran from the room. Pushing the weird thought out of my head, I focused on Itachi. I was blunt, even though I knew he predicted what I was going to say before I opened my mouth. "Why aren't you telling him? He needs to hear that you never meant to kill him. I've already told him, but that thick head of his won't listen to me. He needs to hear it from you."

"No, he doesn't. It's not needed." As if explaining something simple to a three year old, Itachi folded his hands onto his book and spoke slowly to me. "Sasuke is entirely too smart to need an explanation. I know my brother has not lost that much intelligence. If anything, I'd assume he's known about my intentions for quite some time now, but has blocked out his own discovery. Nothing I say will change that."

"Of course it will! All he does is care about what you say. You could tell him to jump off a damn bridge and I bet a part of him would consider it." I felt his hand squeeze mine, but I tried to ignore the strong tug.

"Enough. We're leaving."

"Why?! What was the point of even coming here if you two won't just admit you both miss each other. I don't get either of you! One of you is so stubborn; he won't even listen to himself. And the other one is just as bad because he refuses to outright say anything because 'it's not needed'. Will one of you just say _something _that will make this whole trip worth something more than gas money?"

"I'm leaving the institution in two weeks." Alright, that wasn't exactly expected. If Sasuke could get any paler than normal, then he did. Shock froze my lungs, and it took a moment for me to breathe after realizing that Itachi was perfectly calm. I didn't get how these two did it, but their stoniness would make any wall proud.

"W-what?" I whispered slowly, remembering what Itachi had said to me the last time I had questioned him about leaving the hospital. When I had left last time, Itachi seemed quite content staying in his little mental bubble for the rest of his life. But now, staring at how composed he was after dropping that bombshell, I knew something had changed. I just didn't know how.

"When you left last time, you said something extremely…enlightening, Naruto." Creepily, he seemed to read my mental question and begun to answer it. Must have been an Uchia thing. "You reminded me of how I ended up in this situation. Who I had intended to protect. However, my rash actions as an eighteen year old caused some long-term consequences that I never predicted. From both you and Kakashi, I have come to discover that my ingenious plan did not take into consideration the mental stability of a young child. What seemed rational and understandable to an adult may not come off the same to a boy losing everything established around him. The innocence and lack of mental development I intended to use for the plan soon became lost. And for a long time, I accepted the fact that I could not change anything.

"Then you, Naruto-kun, came. Before you left, you said I had the power to make some of it right again. Not everything, but some. I thought I was right because I cannot change what has happened. I cannot change everything. But what is to come, the future, is possible to alter to the best outcome feasible. And in order to reach that goal, I need to release myself from this institution and return back to the life I had assumed I had lost. You showed me something that even my intelligence couldn't grasp. Your constant stubbornness and dedication to your beliefs reminded me of who I had once been before incarcerating myself here." For the second time, and the first time in front of Sasuke, Itachi let his lips lift into a calm smile. His eyes still lacked warmth or anything proving he was happy, but it was a huge start for anyone linked to the Uchiha name. His eyes left mine, and moved to his completely frozen sibling. "I intend to take back my room when I am approved for my release."

Sasuke didn't speak. In fact, for a minute I thought he wasn't breathing. If he blinked, it was at the exact same time that I did. His hands, which had once been balled against his side and my hand while bantering with his brother, laid limp and motionless. There was no animosity or hatred in his gaze, which had constantly flickered throughout the conversation. Now, there was nothing. For once, truly, I had no idea what Sasuke was feeling. I tried to think about how I would feel if I switched spots with Sasuke, but I couldn't do it. Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start.

I jumped when Sasuke sharply turned, not speaking another word. His hand left mine, leaving my fingers cold. He didn't slam the door or storm into the hall, like I know I would have. It was as if Itachi hadn't said a word.

"I'm sure he's uh…happy," I said, then slapped myself in the forehead for sounding like a total idiot. If Itachi was bothered, he didn't show it. So quickly, trying to salvage something, I turned to him. "And he doesn't hate you. I know he doesn't, so don't worry about that. He's uh…well he kept the room the same for you! And th—"

"You are extremely concerned about our relationship. Is there a particular reason for that?" Damn these Uchihas. When they don't want to talk about themselves, they always switch the conversation. But why did it always have to be about something involving me?

"Well yeah! Sasuke's my best friend and I care a lot about him." I stayed away from the word 'boyfriend', not knowing if Sasuke would want me to tell Itachi. Then again, Kakashi seemed quite close with the elder Uchiha. There was little doubt in my mind that the pervert would keep that secret for long. Plus the 'holding hands' thing didn't exactly scream straight friends.

"You…care for him?" Arching an eyebrow must be a genetic thing, since Itachi mastered it just as well as Sasuke.

"Despite what a pain in the ass he is….yeah, guess I kind of do. But don't go telling him that!" Laughing to try and hide my embarrassment, I took a step back in order to make my escape.

"I think you are mixing caring with love." I froze at the dreaded 'L' word. The word that had been circulating in my head since the night of the basketball game. The word that scared the hell out of me when I realized that it may possibly be the right word in this situation. The word that brought down and torn apart some of the greatest men in the world. My backing up sped up while I shook my head.

"What?! Me and the bastard? In love? I-It's not possible! In fact, I'm going to go find him and kick his ass right now for running out like that!" I grabbed the door handle, which wasn't quite fast enough to escape Itachi's response.

"I am…pleased that you found my brother." I couldn't turn to face him now even if I wanted to. My face probably looked like tomato with a sunburn. So instead of answering, I ran out of the room in order to try and get rid of the blush while I searched for Sasuke. But the hue didn't have time to disappear, because I realized that Sasuke hadn't made it far. In fact, I barely had to go ten feet before I realized the ball of black on the hallway floor was none other than Sasuke.

"Sa.." I swallowed weakly, not knowing why I felt weird. Like I had stepped into something that I wasn't supposed to see. Shaking the idea, I moved to crouch in front of him and cleared my throat. "What the hell are you doing on the floor like this? And why did you just go AWAL on us in there?"

"Foolish idiot." The words were spat out in front of me, and I was shocked at how much emotion leaked into Sasuke's voice. Even without seeing his hidden face I knew just how angry he was.

"What the hell did I do now?!" I shouted when a hand shoved into my chest, making me fall back on my back in the hallway. The pain was short lived, but I still glared at him. "What was that for? You do that again and you'll be happy you're in a hospital."

"Wasting your life like that is foolish." At Sasuke's quiet mumbling, I stopped. It took me a minute, but I realized that he wasn't talking about me.

"You mean your brother?" When he didn't answer, I put the puzzle together faster than even I thought was possible of. "You think…that because he sacrificed his life for you, he's stupid?"

"As stupid as you."

"You ungrateful bastard!" I slammed my hands on either side of his head, propping myself on my knees that easily slid between his legs. The positioning let me lean over his lowered head. "He gives his freedom away so that you can have another chance at life, and you call him stupid? He loved you Sasuke! He still does. Why can't you just listen to all the evidence around you and realize that all of this was for you?"

"Get away from me. Leave me alone, I don't need your pathetic preaching deafening me." His hand grabbed my wrist to shove me away, but he stopped as soon as I tensed. Probably because he knew that I felt the wetness that now pressed along my skin. I only had a few seconds before Sasuke found a way to escape so I did what any good boyfriend would do; I grabbed the back of his hair and tugged. I knew it hurt him from the wince, just like I knew the tears lines on his face weren't my fault. His eyes widened slightly from my discovery, but quickly returned to normal as he jerked his head to look away from me. I wasn't sure how I kept a secure grip in his hair when the rest of my body froze in astonishment. I was memorized by the quiet tears that tipped over his eyelids and drew down his pale complexion to become lost on the ground underneath us. Sasuke even cried coldly. There were no sobs or changes in his vocals like I had been known to do. His heavy breathing was only noticeable if you looked for it. The only evidence of his crying were the actual tears and slight swelling under his eyes.

"You…" He glared at my unfocused mumbling, which wasn't quite as effective while crying.

"Let go of me." But I didn't. I couldn't, to be honest. I tried to look away from him, but my eyes were automatically drawn back within seconds. Instead of listening to his command, I found myself pulling him forward into a hug that I doubted he wanted. "Idiot." I ignored the way his spine tensed and focused on the slight waver in his voice. My arms locked around him while I pressed his head closer to me. Maybe the hug was more for me than him. Sasuke was never a physical person anyways. All I knew was seeing Sasuke, after years of fighting, physical and emotional, finally cry…

It hurt a hell of a lot more than I ever thought. When had this all happened? Wasn't it supposed to make me feel better to know that even the great Uchiha Sasuke could cry? Hell I had cried plenty of times. It was his turn, right? So why, sitting on the floor in some random hallway, did I want to make it stop? How had Sasuke gotten that deep under my skin? I could feel him sitting still in my embrace, no whimpering or trembling from his crying. He was strong, probably strong enough to pull himself together and leave the hospital without anyone questioning his emotional stability. He was good at hiding things. But I didn't want to let him go. Not yet. And I wasn't really sure if I ever would want to let the bastard out of my sight.

"He loves you. He just doesn't know how to say it." He shifted slightly in my arms, and sighed.

"Shut up."

"Just like..." It was three words. Three tiny words. In fact, the biggest one was only four letters long, and I had just said it about Itachi. So then why was it so hard to just say that I…maybe…felt the same way that Itachi did?

"Like what?" Sasuke muttered quietly, annoyed at the time I was taking hesitating. And why was I hesitating anyways? I was always blunt and said whatever I wanted without caring about what other people thought! Especially Sasuke. With the confidence boost, I opened my mouth again to force the words out. And I managed to speak.

"Like…your parents did. They all love you." It just wasn't the words that I had wanted to say. He didn't say anything after that, but his hand quietly curled around my shoulder. I couldn't help but sigh when his body started to unwind, allowing himself to be comforted from my touch. And after a few more minutes of silence, I felt his head press closer to my neck without the help of my hand.

"Dobe."

I cursed myself the entire way home for being such a wimp. It was all mental, since Sasuke was in the car next to me. We didn't really talk on the ride back, but that seemed to be a pattern between us. Even when we returned home, he said nothing before he locked himself in his room. I didn't know which bothered me more; the lack of his talking or the lack of mine. The time to debate with myself never happened when I remembered I had to work. I didn't bother telling Sasuke where I was going, but left a note on the fridge door in case he came out of hibernation for food.

Have you ever noticed that once your day starts off bad, everything else just goes to hell in a hand basket? It seemed that no matter where I went, bad luck followed. My truck, which had been in great condition the day before, suddenly decided to have no heat during one of the coldest days of February. The traffic was thick, and I clocked into work late. That didn't seem to bother Jiraiya, since he was too busy ogling the waitresses to notice. In fact, that was basically the only thing that he did all night. The pervert was the reason bosses had such sketchy stereo-types.

The night only seemed to go slower any time that I thought about the brooding bastard back at the house. Ino had the night off, which didn't do me any good. Between soups and salads, I was plagued by the scenarios that could have happened if I hadn't let nerves get to me. It didn't help that most of them ended up with Sasuke leaving or me in a coma. My normally optimistic view was tinted grey by the dark cloud that seemed to follow me into Jiraiya's office at the end of the night.

"Hey gramps, you busy?" He had announced an hour ago that he would be in his office doing 'important work', and that nobody should bother him or ask him for help. That also meant that every problem was dropped onto me while Jiraiya 'worked' in his office. By the lecherous grin on his face, I knew exactly how much bullshit he made up. "You're looking at dirty magazines again, aren't you?"

"Now what makes you think that?"

"Maybe the sudden shuffling of papers to cover the magazine?" He laughed, as if he hadn't just shoved all of his papers underneath his desk. The headache I already had seemed to grow every second I was around him.

"Oh never mind that. I'm just doing some cleaning! What's up short stuff?"

"I might need to get off early on Friday." I could tell he was curious about the rare request by the way his attention didn't stray. "It's Sasuke's big game or something. Ino said I should go. They have to beat some other team Tuesday before they go for the championship Friday night. So since I have to work Tuesday and Friday, I figured I'd leave a little early Friday and watch the last quarter of the game. Plus, you owe me for all the times I've come in for you."

"Leaving work early for him? It seems this relationship is getting pretty serious there." Anyone would have blushed at the suggestive way Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows.

"It is not, we've only been going out for a couple of weeks! Stop being perverted." Not that he was entirely off, since we _had _gotten serious. But there were some things that Jiraiya didn't need to know, especially my sex life.

"Should I start preparing the catering services for the wedding? I might even give you the day off."

"Will you cut it out? I won't feel bad sicking Tsunade on you."

"So if the Uchiha kid is your best friend and fiancée, who gets to be your best man? Does he do both?"

"Shut up gramps! I don't even know if Sasuke loves me!"

"So then you love him is what you're saying?" I opened my mouth to answer, but caught myself. Not that it really mattered, since I implied it with a heavy blush and a glare. He smiled much wider than I liked and leaned back in his office chair. "Your face says it quite clearly."

"This is dumb. I'm leaving."

"Did I ever tell you the first time I fell in love?" I stopped, more from shock than actual interest. Slowly I turned back away from the door and leaned against it while shaking my head. I watched gramps tilt his head up to stare at the ceiling with a look that I had never seen him wear before. The smile wasn't mischievous or dirty, but something else. I could not place it, but it wasn't normal. "I was seventeen. I had gotten my first car, and was out with my friends chasing anything with a short skirt. So I pulled up next to this beauty on a hot summer night. It was August, if my memory is correct. She was short, but she was a looker. Blond hair, big brown eyes, and a body that would make any guy drool."

"So you fell in love with some girl cause she was hot? That's not love at all, you crazy old man," I muttered, wondering why I was still listening to the story. Maybe it was the way his laugh seemed genuine that made me slowly relax against the door.

"I'm not going to lie kid; her body was amazing. But that's not what made me fall in love with her. You see, I was a little perverted back then—"

"Back then?! You still are now!" If he heard me, he ignored it to continue to tell his story.

"So pulling up next to her in my brand new corvette, I tried to use one of my pick-up lines to catch her attention. It was a good one too. And in response, she punched the hood of my car so hard, it left a dent that cost me two hundred dollars to fix. After that, it was fate. I couldn't help but fall head over heels in love." At the crazy story, I gaped.

"She beat the shit out of your car and you _fell in love _with her? What kind of girl does that besides granny anyways!?"

"No other girl. And that's why I fell in love with that particular one." I stared at him when he looked back down to me and grinned. "That's how I fell in love with Tsunade."

"That's who you were talking about? But you're not in love with her anymore; you're the biggest pervert ever!"

"Tsunade still means a lot to me. In truth, the several women I encounter daily are beautiful. Some have nice breasts, some have nice butts, and there are the lucky few who are blessed with both. But none of them would be able to dent the hood of my car and look twice as beautiful doing it. That's what makes Tsunade special to me. And she'll always be the only one who I have true eyes for." Despite every memory of Jiraiya and his perverseness, I couldn't help but notice how genuine he seemed about loving Tsunade.

"Wait, so I don't get it. If you love her, why didn't you just get married or whatever? I mean, it's not like you two are getting younger."

"Because Tsunade isn't quite ready to admit that she's madly in love with your stud of a grandfather." At this, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Are you sure it's not because she doesn't love you?"

"Oh, she loves me. But she's a stubborn girl, and she hates it."

"How do you know?"

"Simple. It's her nose." I blinked once, and it his turn to explain. He leaned his arms on his desk, tapping his own nose for emphasis. "Whenever she gets irritated with me, she always wrinkles her nose. When I compliment her or show up at her office, anything that shows how much I truly love her."

"So what?" I asked slowly, not understanding the connection.

"Whenever Tsunade gets angry at anyone else, she yells and grimaces. That's because she is truly mad. But Tsunade doesn't get upset when I bring her flowers or use my charm on her. In fact, she secretly likes it. That's why she wrinkles her nose. She can't act naturally angry because she isn't, so she does something she assumes makes her look irritated. But after being with that lovely lady for so long, I know her much better than even she knows herself. That's love."

"And you somehow twist the pepper spray and bruises as flirting? You are one twisted old man."

"You may not understand it now, but you will soon. It will just hit you, and you'll finally get what I'm saying."

"How the hell do you figure that?"

"Well, Sasuke and Tsunade are pretty similar. They don't like expressing their emotions, and use insults and physical violence to help deal with their problems. He'll make some sort of move that he only does for you, and you'll know then exactly what I'm saying. Trust me boy, it'll happen. Now go home, you're off right?" I nodded slowly, wondering exactly what he was going on about. I made my way to my truck, ignoring the biting air that stung my lips to try and think of something Sasuke did with me. I thought about fighting, but quickly dismissed it. He had never physically fought with anyone else because they weren't 'an annoying blonde dobe'. Plus, we had stopped fighting since we started to date.

It wasn't until I got home that I realized that Jiraiya never answered me about leaving early Friday. I reminded myself to ask him about it Tuesday.

"You're late." I looked up at the top of the stairs, grinning sheepishly when I noticed the scowl he sent me. I studied it for a moment, wondering if he scowled at anyone else like that. That thought was quickly dismissed when I remembered he scowled at every single girl at school.

"Yeah, I got stuck talking with gramps about stuff. Oh! But I think I might come see your game Friday, so you guys better advance on Tuesday." If he was impressed with the news, he didn't show it. Instead, the bastard actually rolled his eyes before brushing past me.

"You reek."

"Hey! I smell like yummy food and good old' Naruto. Girls would kill for some of this."

"Go shower, dobe." Not liking how easily he ignored me, I moved after him.

"That's two times you've called me that."

"So what?"

"So you've gotta…well you know!"He stopped when I pivoted in front of him, scowling again at the information. Maybe it was the amount of times he scowled that made it different than the girls? But he frowned whenever Sakura was around, and I knew that he didn't see her like that. When I finally pulled myself back from my own head, I noticed a quiet pressure against my mouth. Before I had time to respond, Sasuke pulled back and pushed me back by my forehead. "Wait, I wasn't ready!"

"Not my problem. Now go shower," he ordered, not looking back to me as he moved to the fridge. I moved to leave the kitchen, but stopped when the morning flashed back into my head.

"Hey, Sasuke? Are you uh…are you okay now? With the Itachi coming back thing. You kind of locked me out of your room today so I couldn't really talk to you or nothing." He stayed quiet for some time after I asked about Itachi. Maybe he thought that I'd eventually give up and leave him alone again. He must of remembered who he was dealing with, because he finally relented and looked back to me.

"It's something I'll deal with when the time comes. I don't worry over pointless things like yourself."

"Pointless? It's your brother!"

"And you're annoying. Now leave."

"Asshole." I didn't bother waiting for a response as I moved out of the kitchen. I knew that even if I bugged him, Sasuke wasn't going to open up as much as he had that morning. I also knew that the Itachi situation still bothered him. But like every other emotion, Sasuke hid it better than anyone else. We didn't speak about it throughout the week, and he acted as if nothing had changed. If I did try to bring it up, he would dismiss it and leave the room. Every time, I noticed his shoulders tense and his eyes shifted anywhere but me. Sometimes, the little things are louder than words.

I had hoped that somehow, Kakashi would be able to pull out more information about Sasuke during our therapy. Either about Itachi or our relationship, it didn't matter. It was the first time that I actually wanted to see the silver haired pervert. Of course, it was cancelled because of Kakashi's 'previous arrangements' that he didn't bother to tell us about until thirty minutes after our therapy was supposed to start. So after the bust with the actual therapist, I was left to do my own investigating. Unfortunately, I wasn't a professional with years of schooling and soon learned that Sasuke was a lot harder to understand than I thought.

Not only did I spend the rest of the night following his movements as attentively as I could, but I spent most of the school week wondering about what Jiraiya said. Testing his theory cost me a detentions, three eyebrow furrows, two creased forehead looks, five glares, and several harsh yelling sessions. But no nose wrinkling throughout the entire week. I sat both alone and dumbfounded in my detention. Why didn't she wrinkle her nose at me? And if Jiraiya was right, then why didn't Sasuke have some special way of showing me too?

I didn't want to think about the possibility that his feelings weren't mutual.

"So you're telling me that just because the Japanese attacked a military base in Hawaii, we had the right to bomb a civilian city in the middle of Japan?" I tried to keep my concentration on the debate that had started in the middle of history. Really, we were supposed to be taking a test about the civil war, but Kiba was always good at finding ways around tests. So when he made an offhanded comment about the blood lust America had, it started an all out war (no pun intended) in the classroom.

"Of course we did! They were planning on taking out our entire country. It was war!"

"But an atomic bomb? That was a little overboard." By now, Iruka had given up trying to control the overzealous class. And Kiba? He was now texting Hinata in the back of the class. Sighing while another girl made a counter point, I felt my gaze travelling the short distance to see Sasuke's nose buried in one of his books. Leave it to Sasuke to waste his free time reading. Then again, staring off into space wasn't exactly fun. And I knew I wasn't going to get a conversation out of the bastard while he was occupied with something he claimed was 'worth his time'.

"Sorry to interrupt your class discussion," The head of the guidance department caught my attention, and I turned to look up at him. Though small and quite often mistaken for a female, Haku was our only male counselor in the school. He smiled kindly at Iruka before turning back to the class, holding tightly onto a clipboard. "As you know, it will only be a few more months before some of you will be graduating in the spring. Now as far away as that seems, it will go by quite fast. So in order to make sure that everyone of you makes it out in the real world after school, the guidance department is talking to all seniors individually in order to see what your future goals are. Now I will be dealing with your class today, so please be patient and hopefully we'll talk to everyone. If not, we'll try again next Friday. Let's start with the back of the room and we'll move on from there."

Since I had moved back with Kiba during the debate, I didn't have to wait long for my guidance discussion with Haku. He seemed extremely pleased with my plans to take over Jiraiya's restaurant and continue the family business. After we worked out some possible business schools that I may have wanted to look at, I was told to go back to my class. The discussion about the future didn't bother me until I saw a certain black haired Uchiha leave the room for his counseling. That's when Kakashi's therapy from the week before popped into my head. Despite what Sasuke had told me in the car, I couldn't help but wonder what he intended to do after high school.

"If you think any harder, I think your head will start smoking." I scowled at Kiba's smirk, shaking my head to show my brain was functioning just fine.

"At least I have one to use. You probably told Haku that your plans for the future were to find a functioning brain."

"Shut up!" I laughed at how easily the smirk turned into a growl, realizing that Kiba was the only person I knew to have a shorter anger switch than me.

"What _did _you two tell him, anyways?" I asked, slightly curious to see what Kiba and Shikamaru planned to do with their futures. After all, despite the bickering we went through, they were still some of my best friends. The last thing I wanted was to lose both them and the bastard at the same time.

"Going to college. Not sure what yet. Not sure I care, either." Vagueness, thy name is Shikamaru. Really, what did the kid know? For a genius, he sure lacked the motivation to do something with it.

"And I told him I wanted to stay in town and work with my mom for a bit. The adoption center is really busy lately and I'm sure it'll only get worse in the summer. Plus, that way I can stay close to Hinata."

"You two talked to your girlfriends about it?" I asked slowly. Besides the quick mention during therapy, me and Sasuke hadn't really talked about what happened after high school.

"Technically, Hinata and Kiba aren't dating."

"I'm working on it! I'm just…waiting for the right time," Kiba muttered, sinking into his desk chair. It was an opportunity I couldn't help but take.

"I don't think hell freezing over will come soon enough."

"I'll ignore that." But by the way he glared at my, I knew I had scored a point in the imaginary tally we kept. He knew it and changed the subject to avoid my gloating. "Me and Hinata talked about it a couple weeks ago. I wanted to make sure I was on the same track as her for when I do ask her out."

"What about you, Shika?" In response, he slowly shrugged.

"Ino's dragged me into the 'future' talk a few times now. She knows I'm going to college and is hinting at renting an apartment between our schools. Troublesome woman." Despite the lack of enthusiasm in Shikamaru's voice, his words still struck a nervous chord in my stomach. So even Shikamaru was looking toward the future, and he barely talked about tomorrow. Never mind next year! I fell quiet after the new information, uneasy with the situation that I was dealt. Sasuke didn't return before the bell rang, which gave me time to leave without seeing him until the end of the day. It was the last class I had with him, and I didn't want to see him yet. I spent the rest of the school day just trying to figure out which problem I wanted to focus on. There was no reason to worry about the future if Sasuke didn't love me. Then again, it didn't matter how much he loved me if he did intend to kick me out of his life. And with Itachi's announcement a few days back, there was no telling what was going through Sasuke's head.

"Sasuke!" That wasn't good enough for me. So when the final bell signaled our freedom, I headed straight toward Sasuke's car. I knew that he was planning on practicing before the big game, and he had to go back to his car to grab his workout clothes. Ignoring how creepy it was I could read his movements, I jogged next to his car when he acknowledged my call with a head lift and eyebrow arch.

"What now?"

"Jeeze bastard, don't seem too happy to see me." I leaned against the side of his car and huffed, watching a white cloud of smoke dissolve into the sky.

"Is there a reason you followed me to my car?"

"Hey! It's not like I stalked you or anything." He scoffed, and for a moment I almost forgot why I had bothered to track him down. Biting back the insult I wanted to throw at him, I shoved my hands into my jacket's pockets. "I just…when you talked to Haku today. What did you tell him, anyways?"

"Simple. I plan to attend Suna university."

"What for?"

"Genetics. And this concerns you…how?" A part of me cringed when I realized he wasn't interested in what I had said during my meeting.

"How _doesn't _it concern me? I mean, we're in a relationship. That means I need to know these things! Right?" What I thought was quite obvious seemed confusing to Sasuke. He paused as if turning the thought over in his head before he scoffed and turned away.

"Idiot. Stop wasting my time." Without another word, Sasuke grabbed his bag and walked back toward the school. I watched, more confused than I had been before. Was I the only one that actually cared where this relationship went?

"Naruto? What the heck are you doing out here? And why are you dazing off in the middle of a parking lot?" I blinked once to realize that the hand waving in front of my face was attached to Ino.

"I'm talking to Sasuke. Well, I was before the teme decided to leave me here. Right in the middle of a conversation too!"

"You said teme. You'll have to kiss him tonight." Leave it to Ino to miss the important part of the conversation and head straight to the romance.

"Like that matters right now!"

"Alright alright, well what were you talking about? Ramen? You know he hates that stuff."

"I still think he just ate some expired ramen. There's no way anyone could hate ramen!" I rambled, but caught myself when she smacked her forehead with her palm. "But it wasn't that. Did you talk to the guidance counselors about your plans today?"

"Well yeah, every senior did," She replied, nodding.

"That's what we were talking about. Me and Sasuke haven't really talked about what's going to happen after high school. For all I know, he doesn't even intend to keep me around after everything is said and done. And when I try to talk to him about it, he just calls me some stupid insult and walks away."

"Of course he wants you! I mean, he wouldn't date you if he didn't, right? He's never dated anyone else, so you're special to him."

"Special doesn't mean permanent," I muttered back.

"Don't think like that, Naruto. Just give him some time; I'm sure he'll prove just how important you are to him. I mean, look at me and Shikamaru! It took us years to even get on our first date."

"Yeah, but that's just because he's lazy and you were stubborn." I ignored the slight huff of annoyance she sent me while I leaned against Sasuke's car, staring up at the sky. "But Sasuke's not like that. So I just don't get it. Maybe I'm really not what he wants in the end. He probably wants some creepy cold business lady so they can have anti-social kids and a dog named 'Cujo' or something. I doubt we'd even make it a year anyways."

"Now Naruto—"If she intended to continue, she was cut off by the sudden ringing from her purse. She dug her hands around before pulling out the small cell phone, flipping it open to stare at something that was sent to her. "Oh, I forgot! I told Sakura I'd go hang out at her house after school so we could go to the basketball game together."

"Well, then you better get going, huh?" She hesitated, and I knew she was feeling guilty for leaving in the middle of our talk. Quickly I waved off her concern and grinned through the slight pain I inflicted to myself from my earlier comment."Make sure to tell her to save a spot for me tonight. I told Jiraiya that I needed to leave early tonight so I could catch the last part of the game. Let's just hope that the pervert remembered."

"Are you sure?"

"Do I look like a sniffling girl?"

"….We'll save you a spot, don't worry. You're Sasuke's good luck charm, remember?" She winked before jogging toward her car, leaving me alone with everything that had been dropped in front of me. The question was, did I bother to try and sort everything out? Did I really have a choice?

Even though Ino told me to stop worrying, it was impossible. A person could only ignore their own thoughts for so long, especially when left alone. Work, which I had hoped would be too busy to think, was particularly slow for a Friday. It made sense, in a way. The teenagers that normally came on Friday nights were piling into the bleachers at the school by now. The same game that the central key to all of my problems was playing for the championship. Sasuke, who was probably too wrapped up in basketball to even think about me, kept flashing into my head. Mainly because, for the life of me, I couldn't remember one time that Sasuke had told me to stay with him. Was it because he didn't think he needed to, or did he never really think about it? Did he think about me? And why did love make men turn into mushy teenage girls?! Growing frustrated over my own emotions, I flicked a French fry across the grill and into the trash. Really, I should have tried out for the basketball team.

"Naruto, you have an uh…visitor in the front of the store that has demanded to see you." Oh fantastic. When all else failed, at least angry customers were a constant. Pushing myself up from my self-wallowing, I followed the waitress through the grill and out to the front of the restaurant. From the way the new employee worded it, I knew whoever it was waiting for me wasn't happy. I was almost positive the prices or the food was to blame. So when I saw Sakura standing in front of me with her arms crossed and eyes glaring, I was lost.

"Sakura? Why aren't you at the game?"

"How could I go to the game when you're telling Ino you don't how Sasuke feels about you?" I nearly fell over at the question.

"She told you?!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? I told her that in confidence! What ever happened to the secret 'S' subjects?"

"Secret what?" Well, at least Ino had kept her mouth shut about that.

"It's just something we do at work. All of our problems start with S like school and Shikamaru and shoe sizes—"

"What are you, a girl?!" I shut up quickly at the way Sakura's voice practically made the voice tremble. Alright, so the girl really did have good vocals. And hey, if we wanted to knock a wall down, now we didn't have to call a contractor.

"Uh…so why are you here?" I made sure to take a step back in case she tried to hit me.

"Why would you even doubt him, Naruto? He's…he really likes you."

"How would you know that? How would _anyone _know that but him? Hell, he barely talks to me and I'm his boyfriend!"

"Because! He…I…"By the way her anger slipped from her voice, I could tell Sakura knew something I didn't. I barely had time to open my mouth before she answered my silent question. "Do you remember the last time we talked? In the parking lot?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"That night, before I came to see you I…I went to see Sasuke too."

"W-what?"

"I know it was wrong, but after seeing you two in the hall I didn't want to believe that what I saw was real. So I went to his house to try and prove that he really…really didn't like you." Well that definitely was something I didn't know. I stared in shock while her eyes dropped down in obvious shame. The small part that wanted to be mad at her found it quite harder than I expected.

"So was he not home?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. She shook her head and kept her gaze away from mine.

"No, he was home. And when he asked me why I was there, I couldn't stop myself from telling him I had seen everything in the hall. And after I admitted that, I asked why he had kissed you. Back then, I had wanted him to tell me that he only kissed you because he felt bad or because he didn't want to kiss you. And I know that was wrong but I…but, Sasuke didn't say any of that. When I asked him why he kissed you when I had been trying to be with him for years, he just…" For some reason, I felt my heart speed up.

"What did he say?"

"He said you were the only 'dobe' he would tolerate in his life. And it was just so obvious that Sasuke really...that's why I went to the restaurant that night. I wanted to see if you loved him as much as he loved you!" Finally, she looked back up at me. I could see the pain that still pricked at her heart, but it was little and healing. And I felt bad for the warmth that swelled in my stomach and heart when I finally realized something I had been stupidly overlooking for the past week.

"Dobe." The confusion clicked on in her gaze when I spoke, thought I never intended for her to understand. "It's _dobe_!" What had started out our fierce rivalry, what formed out messed up friendship, what helped morph that into intimacy, was dobe. And that, like Tsunade's nose, was Sasuke's way to hiding. He had always called me dobe whenever he was irritated. But for weeks, the annoyance was lost in kisses and quiet intimacy that was started with that one damn insult. And like a key to a locked door, I realized just how true Sakura was. Jiraiya was right.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice snapped me back to reality and what I needed to do.

"Jiraiya…I've gotta go find Jiraiya!" And I turned quickly to find him, only to slam straight into his chest. I cursed and stumbled back, rubbing the front of my nose while glaring up at the old man I had just been yelling about. "Why the hell were you—oh nevermind! Listen gramps, I've gotta go."

"I know. Here, you'll need these." Grinning, Jiraiya tossed my jacket and car keys while holding a clock out slip between his fingers. "I knew you'd crack it eventually, but I should have known you'd need a little help from a lovely assistant like Sakura."

"Not now, gramps," I growled out, shrugging on my coat and grabbing Sakura's wrist. "Now come on Sakura, we've gotta get to that game."

"But Sasuke's still playing? What's the rush?" She didn't get it. And there was no way I could explain what I was feeling. So instead, I yanked her out of the restaurant without another word and ran toward my truck. The entire time, Sakura continued to question my speed. Really, the sane part of myself was doing the same. Still, the emotion overload was in control of my body and I knew it wanted to get to the game as fast as humanly possible. And that was one five minutes if you sped up at yellow lights and did rolling stops at stop signs. I managed to make it between the lines of my parking spot before I shoved my door open, nearly missing the car next to mine. Sakura looked pale as she stumbled from her side, and I finally let sanity slip in enough to let Sakura catch her breath. The last thing I needed was for Sakura to get sick. So while I waited for her legs to stabilize, I started to think about everything that Sakura had told me. And suddenly, something popped out of my racing thoughts.

"Why?" She gulped in the air and glanced up at me between strands of hanging pink.

"Why what?"

"Why did you…tell me all that? I mean I'm happy you did! But uh…if you hadn't, me and Sasuke may have…"

"Broken up?" She smiled when I dumbly nodded my head before she closed her eyes and sighed. "A part of me really didn't want to tell you. I thought about it for a while, and realized that Sasuke wouldn't be so blunt about his feelings with you. If he never told you, and you started to doubt the relationship, there was a chance that Sasuke would lose you. And maybe a few months ago, I would have been selfish enough to stay quiet. But when Ino told me what you said today, I just knew I couldn't. I knew that even if you two broke up, Sasuke would never look at me or anyone else the way he does with you. I just had to face the facts that's I'm…not his dobe, I guess."

"You know, I knew there was a reason I always saw myself with you in the end. Because you're the best friend I could ask for." I pulled her into a tight hug, knowing she needed it much more than I did. To her credit, she didn't cry. Knowing that letting go of Sasuke no longer made her that upset made an unsettled part of my conscious relax. Her arms linked tightly around my neck, and I felt her smile against my cheek.

"Best sister, you mean." I laughed at the title, knowing at one point in my life I would have detested it. But now, it only comforted me. Finally she let go of me, and I reluctantly followed her lead. Smiling the best I knew she could muster, she pointed to the gym entrance and nodded. "Now go before you have a heart attack."

"Thanks Sakura." With one last breath, I didn't let myself stop until I reached the entrance. Quickly I threw my money at the kid at the table before hopping into the gym. The noise was deafening and somehow managed to blind me for a minute (I'll never get how that happens, but I'm sure the bastard would know) before the scoreboard stopped screaming. Finally gaining my senses back, I scanned the gym for the black mop of hair I needed to see. It didn't take long to locate Sasuke, and I nearly stumbled onto the court when I did. But a sharp tug on my arm had me flailing back onto the bench while a pair of pale eyes stared down at me.

"Uzumaki, what are you doing? We're in the middle of a game, and your behavior is unacceptable." Neji really had big eyes. I swore if the lights went out, they would glow. But I tore my gaze away from the spooky eyes to look back at the court.

"I've gotta go talk to Sasuke!"

"About what?" I went to reply, but quickly stopped when I realized just who I was talking to.

"I-Its not your business you nosy jerk." The insult caught him off guard, but I could see his slight irritation from the vein that twitched next to his eye. Really, he needed to get that checked out by his eye doctor. I didn't think that eye-veins were supposed to twitch like that.

"If you're not going to tell me, then you can just wait until the game is over."

"What?! That doesn't even make sense!"

"Neither does your obsession with ramen." Now that was just a low blow. But before I could defend my favorite food, a deeper voice cut into the conversation.

"What is he doing on the bench?" I looked up to Sasuke, who proved that sports and sex caused the same look. I sat dazed at the connection that reminded me of the last basketball (in both ways) before I noticed both captains staring at me.

"I need to talk to you. We need to talk now."

"Now? We're in the middle of a game, Uzumaki."

"Yeah, I know that! It's kinda written on that big score board over there," I replied, which caused a glaring contest between me and Neji. Luckily (for him and his bug eyes) Sasuke broke it up.

"Go in for me." Sasuke glanced slowly at Neji, who took a moment to nod and move onto the court. I jumped up quickly and ignored the glare he sent me. "This better be important."

"It is!"

"Hn."

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

"You came all the way down here to tell me that?" He shot back, glancing to the game clock before back to me. "I don't have the time for your childish antics."

"Sakura told me everything. She told me about that night and what you said to her about me. And I just need you to answer something."

"You need to listen more to peo—"

"Do you love me, Sasuke?!"

"What?" And he said that I needed to listen to people more? I took a deep breath before I spoke.

"You, me, love. Sakura told me what you said about me being the only person you could tolerate and and and-"

"You came to my game for this?"

"You mean it right? No, don't answer that, that's pointless." I waved my hand in his face as if that would make the question disappear from his mind. The patience I doubted he had before was definitely gone now.

"You-"

"I just need to know if you love me damnit! So just spit it out you bastard!" At my outburst Sasuke scowled, but for the first time I noticed the malice I used to see was gone.

"Dobe." And there it was. Automatically, without Sasuke's knowledge, was Sasuke's confession. It was so apparent that it practically blinded me. So many times Sasuke had been telling me exactly what he was feeling. I just had never seen it before. But now that I looked, I could see the way his dark eyes flickered with emotion and his mouth softened from a scowl to pretend irritation. And despite the heavy breathing he had already gained from all the running, I knew his heartbeat had just quickened. And I couldn't help but grin.

"Teme!" One small word sent me flying forwards into a kiss that caught him and anyone else watching by surprise. It wasn't like I cared; I had always been known in the school for doing unexpected things. So I closed my eyes and concentrated on loosening the tightly locked lips Sasuke had fastened. Apparently he wasn't as used to my random antics as I thought. Pulling back a bit, I mumbled quietly against his lips "me too, teme." before kissing him again. This time, I was rewarded with a quiet return of my kiss while an arm wrapped around my waist. The kiss was short, intense, and made me grin against his lips. It shouldn't have been a surprise that a second later, I felt myself pushed back to trip over the bench and onto the ground.

"Idiot." Groaning, I pushed up just in time to see Sasuke's glare, which was weakened by a red flush. "Don't be a nuisance during my game." He moved back out onto the court without one glance back at me. I couldn't help but grin while I brushed the back of my hand over my lips, knowing I had gotten my point across.

That day, Sasuke won the game. He got the winning shot and all that cliché stuff that was forgotten within weeks when a new sport started up. But I won something too. Knowing Sasuke loved me was better than anything else.

And not even the best therapy could change my mind.

**The end! Well, basically the end. There's going to be an epilogue that will wrap some tiny things up, but the main part of the story is done. But I'm actually not sure how I feel right now. Knowing that a story that I have been working on since….febuary? is now done in august is pretty amazing. But I'll miss the characters and the story line. It was a whole bunch of fun, and I hope that you enjoyed the ending. So tell me what you thought about the story! What was your favorite part/person? Maybe it wasn't even a main character or a romantic scene! Let me know, and I hope that you'll stay tune for the next set of stories I'll have coming your way. The order of the next stories will be…**

**One Missed Call**

**Should've Been a What?!**

**You Belong with Me**

**Jai Ho!**

**Grass is Always Greener**

**So make sure you look out for them. Thank you again for sticking with me for so long. I love you all! Peace! Niki**


	18. A Chaotic Ever After

Hello! So this is the epilogue that I promised for all of you fans that wanted it. I know that I left a few things unanswered, and I'm hoping that it will all be tied up in this segment! The reason why I'm calling it an epilogue and not just another chapter is because it's going to be way shorter than the other chapters and it happens about a week after everything else in the story. =) so I hope that you enjoy it!

**Warning:****Hmm…I'm not sure…depends on my mood today….-shrugs- maybe some citrus?**

**Disclaimer: ****If the first 17 chapters weren't a hint for you, I'll say it one more time…I don't own Naruto**

**A Chaotic Ever After**

"Will you just calm down Kiba? You're acting like _you're _the girl in the relationship." I wedged the phone between my ear and shoulder while I pulled a shirt from the box on the floor. Really, having a talk while unpacking was not one of my better ideas. Especially when the person on the other side of the conversation was a panicking teenage boy on his first date with the girl he was in love with.

"This was a dumb idea. Why did I ask her to the movies? This is going to be such a boring first date!" I tried not to laugh at the mental image of Kiba pacing back and forth through his room, tugging his hair like a crazy person.

"Hey, at least you're having a first date. The bastard couldn't even get that right," I said, sighing. It had been nearly a week since the basketball championship, and our confessions. Well, of sorts. We still didn't say the actual words, but we were working on it. Sometimes having two stubborn people in a relationship had a downside.

"The police interrupted. Not my problem." I jumped slightly when I heard a loud bang behind me. Glancing back, I scowled at the idiot who had 'gently' dropped my box onto the living room floor.

"You know, I heard that humans could do this really helpful thing. It's called _bending_. Try it sometime."

"Brains are also useful and I never see you using yours." …I hated fighting with a genius. Instead of answering, I turned away from him and focused back on Kiba.

"Look, don't sweat it. It's pretty obvious that Hinata likes your dog-breath."

"What? How the hell would you know? You can't even remember who the first president was." Yes I could! It was George Washington…right? I shook my head to ignore the comment and focus back on his question.

"Whenever you two are together, she always touches your arm or shoulder. It's a non-verbal sign that she wants to be close to you. Also, she blushes all the time around you _and _bits her lip. It's a sign she's nervous or embarrassed around you." I smirked and leaned back on the balls of my feet, tossing the shirt I was holding onto a pile on the bed. I could practically hear Kiba stuttering on the other side of the phone.

"How do you know all that crap?"

"Eh, places." I leisurely glanced up at the clock on Sasuke's nightstand, sighing. "Oh, and you've got fifteen minutes to go meet Hinata."

"Fuck!" And without another word, the ungrateful jerk hung up on me. I sighed loudly before tossing my cell phone onto the bed, falling backwards to sit on the floor.

"Jesus, giving relationship advice is hard. Especially with an idiot like him," I muttered, glancing around Sasuke's room. Everywhere the eye could see was covered in boxes, my name written in bright orange on every one of them. It had been Sasuke's idea to move me into his house. He claimed it was because he was 'sick of me borrowing his clothes'. And I said I would, because I was sick of wearing his clothes or something like that. So after school for the past couple of days, we had headed over to my house and picked up anything that I needed and moved it over to Sasuke's.

"I see you have my brother working hard." Well, I should say Sasuke and Itachi's house. I could feel the slight tension between the two brothers, which (luckily) wasn't as thick as their first confrontation in the hospital.

"You could help."

"Are you asking for my assistance, little brother?" Itachi asked, leaning against the wall. I could feel the anger pooling off of Sasuke despite his stoic face.

"…Hn."Sasuke scoffed and left the room without another word. Itachi had come home on Monday, which may have been another reason Sasuke asked me to move in. Even though the past had been finally figured out, Sasuke hadn't forgiven Itachi. And really, I don't think Itachi planned to be welcomed with open arms from his little brother. It was going to take a while for either of them to fall back into the role of siblings, but at least they were trying. Despite his cold nature toward his brother, I knew Sasuke wanted to mend the fences by how easily he let his brother move back into the house. It was a start at least.

"You need something?" I asked, mentally cursing myself for how quick my back tensed. It was those damn Uchiha eyes. Sometimes I swore Itachi could make a perfect killer in a horror movie, just based on those eyes. I'd say Sasuke could too, but his duck-butt hairdo would just make people laugh.

"Simply to inform you two I'll be out for the night." I blinked slowly at the news, not sure if I had heard right. Ever since Itachi had been home, he had hardly left his room. Hearing that he'd be going _outside _of the house was hard to comprehend.

"What? Where?"

"To visit an old friend."

"Who?" Once again, I was completely freaked out by the small smile that tilted Itachi's mouth before he made his silent exit out of Sasuke's room. The complete stillness lasted until another box was dropped on the floor. It seemed to propel Itachi into movement, barely brushing Sasuke's shirt as he moved out of the room. Despite the lowering of his head, I knew Sasuke was watching from the corner of his eye. "He's going to visit a friend or something."

"I didn't ask." Was the kind reply I got from the stoic bastard. I huffed and crossed my arms and legs, glaring up at him.

"What crawled up your ass and died today?"

"It's Wednesday."

"So what?"

"We have a therapy lesson today." Oh, right. Since didn't have to go last time, I had completely forgotten about the silver haired pervert.

"Well fuck," I said, slowly pushing to my feet and moving to Sasuke's desk. Pushing the stuff around, I ignored the glare I felt on my back when grabbing his phone and flipping it open. Skimming through his numbers (all four of them), I easily found Kakashi's office.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm calling the pervert, what else?" The phone rang twice before I was greeted with an overly-cheerful voice.

"Well hello Sasuke. To what do I owe the pleasure of receiving a call?"

"It ain't him. It's Naruto," I answered, leaning against the sill to stare out at the street. Faintly, I could see the car disappear from the street, leaving my concentration to fall back on the soft chuckle on the other side of the phone.

"My favorite blonde client."

"Knowing how messed up your 'techniques' are, I bet I'm the only one too," I muttered, ignoring the inner voice that reminded me of just how his skills changed my life. After all of the weeks of therapy, I ended up with my head flipped upside-down and turned inside out. He took every emotion I could possibly feel and jammed it into my body as fast as possible. My thoughts trailed away from the pink-haired beauty I thought was my future wife, and toward an emo kid who barely could say my name without an insult following it. And yet, despite all of that, I had turned out _better _than I had been before I had started the therapy. How he managed it, I could never tell you.

"I'm actually quite known in this town. That is why you two were my clients after all."

"That's cause granny doe—wait…were?"

"Yes, were. You were my clients." I blinked in confusion before glancing to Sasuke, who was contentedly (or as contentedly as he could…which wasn't content at all, come to think of it) tossing my things into piles. How he was sorting, I didn't know. Probably what he considered 'useful' and what wasn't. I could only guess that the huge pile wasn't things he planned to let me keep.

"What do you mean by that? Don't we have an appointment today?" I asked, glaring when Sasuke dropped my favorite pair of orange boxers into the 'non-useful' pile. They were classics!

"I completed what I needed to do. You two are in a relationship, not created from hate or disgust, but affection and love. Now that your relationship is rolling in the right direction, there is no need to see me anymore. Your required therapy is over. I've already notified your principal of your progress."

"So…so that's it?"

"Yup. You two are on your own." For a minute, I was happy. Listening to the pervert think of new ways to torture us was about as exciting as spooning my eyes out with a rusty spoon. But as the idiot moved to say goodbye, a small ball of anxiety grew inside of my stomach. "Well, I must be going. A client that I haven't been able to sit down with for years is about to come and I know he'd be quite offended if I continued to chat while he came in. He's very testy like that, but I believe it runs in his family. You two love birds have a good day off, okay?"

I didn't catch the underlying hint of who he was seeing because I wasn't focusing on his rambling. When he hung up, I didn't yell. Maybe if I wasn't so caught up in the continual swelling of uneasy emotions swirling inside of my stomach, I would have. But my mind stuck like glue to the idea that me and Sasuke were 'on our own'. It was something that I shouldn't have been bothered by. After all, both of us had been alone for most of our lives. Sure I had Jiraiya, but that was like having a horny Seeing Eye dog that veered away from you any time a pup with slender legs strutted by. And Sasuke had even less help than me. So being on our own wasn't something I should have felt so nauseous about.

What really scared me was being alone and together at the same time. It took Kakashi a couple months to turn our hostile relationship into something…else. It had taken us years. If something that simple was discovered by a pervert like Kakashi, why couldn't we see it? And now that he was gone, where was the relationship going to go? Probably downhill, not that I wanted to think like that. I mean, the bastard was so inside of his own head that without someone to pry all of it out, he would probably get stuck in there again. Not to mention that after this year, we'd be out of high school. I knew that Sasuke had already told me that he planned to stay here during college, but it didn't mean that our relationship would still be peachy keen. I'd be working full time while he was in school, and the tension of having his brother back could cause way more fights than before. And now, knowing that Kakashi was out of the picture, I wasn't sure that we were going to make it.

"Stop daydreaming, dobe. We still need to work on moving the rest of your junk." The rude awakening to reality was accompanied by a rough flick to my forehead. I instantly covered the spot with my palm, trying to rid myself of the stinging sensation he left.

"Don't you mean, you need to finish trashing my stuff?" I asked, slowly pushing to stand up. He stared at the final two piles that he had created, one barely having anything in it.

"I only 'trashed' what was stained or smelt like spoiled ramen."

"You threw away my lucky shirt, didn't you? You're one sick bastard!" I ran over to my stuff, searching through the things that I wanted to salvage before the jerk threw it all out. What right did he have taking my stuff anyways? Well…besides the fact that it was his house and at any point he could kick me out. But who really wanted to talk about that? Pushing myself back to my feet, I barely had time to turn before I had to step back when dark eyes appeared a few inches from my face. How did he move so quietly? Those skills would have been handy for when I was trying to sneak out of detention! They were wasted on him. "What do you want?"

"You're bothered by Kakashi's call." It wasn't a question. God forbid Sasuke not know something and have to actually _ask _for help.

"Kakashi bothers me every time I talk to him," I defended, though the arch of his eyebrow showed just how well he knew me. I hesitated, the old Naruto wanting to shove Sasuke's head into the wall for implying that I was that bothered by something so pointless. I clenched my hand to my side and turned away from him, shrugging as casually as I could. "Kakashi says we don't need to see him anymore. I guess we're off the hook now."

"Good," Sasuke replied flatly, making me glare back at him. Despite everything we had gone through, the bastard hadn't changed much. As if reading my mind, Sasuke dropped the stuff he was holding (probably because it was _my _stuff) and crossed his arms. "You think we still need the pervert around?"

"Yes…no…maybe. He gets you a hell of a lot easier than I do. I mean without that guy prying into your big head, we may have never…you know…" I used my hand to signal the invisible connection between us, not knowing quite how to word it.

"Kakashi didn't tell you to admit your admiration towards me." Well wasn't that a demeaning way of saying 'I love you'.

"Well I know that, jackass."

"Then why do you need him anymore?" I opened my mouth to respond, but found I had nothing to say. In a way, Sasuke was right. Kakashi was smart and all, but I had been going with my gut feelings for a while now with the idiot and they sure seemed to be working. If anything, Kakashi just gave me a headache and took way too much emotional time to talk about things I'd rather keep locked away. Both me and Sasuke had pasts that were better left alone. Hadn't we talked about it enough the past couple months? Maybe we really were done with therapy. But, without it, would the…._relationship _between me and Sasuke survive? "He intruded into our relationship without our permission."

"Are you stupid? He helped us stop trying to kill each other!"

"Your point?" His negative attitude was causing a vulnerability that I had never had before. Two minutes after Kakashi dropped us from his therapy, and we were already fighting. Were we really gonna be able to do this?

"Do you think our relationship is worse now than it was a few months ago? Cause if in your delusional head you think it is, then I'm not staying where I'm not wanted. Should I just start packing my 'stained and ramen smelling' stuff now?" I asked, looking up to see how he would react to the hostile question. He blinked, then sighed and walked toward when he answered.

"We're better off together. Alone, but together. Just myself and you, dobe." It was so much the statement that threw me off. It was the fingers that yanked at the back of my head when Sasuke pulled me up to kiss him. It felt weird and refreshing to feel his body against mine, which happened very rarely now that his brother had moved back. To know that Sasuke initiated it without me bugging him for an hour was an even bigger rarity. I savored the moment by trying to wrestle back dominance, which always seemed to fail when I 'challenged' Sasuke, as he liked to put it. When he yanked my head back from his mouth, he made sure to keep our lips close enough so that I could feel his mumbled words. Words that I thought I would never hear from Sasuke Uchiha. "You don't need Kakashi. You just need me. That's the point of love, idiot. To depend on the other person when you fail and expect only them to help you up."

"You sound like a fucking hallmark card," I replied, trying to ignore how even throughout the months we had gone though, he could still shock me enough to blush. Every time he brought the 'L' word I got flustered. It was rare, but Sasuke made sure I never forgot he meant it. He didn't answer my insult, but instead let go of my head and grabbed the handful of things that were left after he discarded most of my property.

"Put this upstairs as you see fit. You move my stuff; I'll toss yours out the window." Even with the snarky comment he left with, I felt myself relax. There was one major difference I had overlooked when I thought about the future of me and Sasuke's relationship. In the end, we both somehow managed to love each other. And now that we had found someone to make the world not so lonely, we weren't going to let go of each other. For the first times in a long time, we both had someone to live for besides ourselves. Sure we were still going to fight (like five minutes later when I did move his stuff in his dresser and he did throw my things onto the front lawn). Sure we weren't going to have the smoothest of relationships. But what kind of life would that be? After all,I didn't fall in love with just anyone…

"Naruto…Why are these orange boxers not in the trash?" I fell in love with Sasuke Uchiha, the biggest prick I could find. And that was the best chaotic ending I could ever ask for.

**Holy crap that should have been up like….forever ago! I'm so sorry that I just never finished this. Really I just wasn't in the right state of mind. But thank god I got through it tonight. I know it's pretty short, but hey, it's just an epilogue. Can you guess who Kakashi's new patient was? I bet you all could! Well I hope that you all are happy now, getting one final glimpse at the boys in 'Therapy'. I really wanna thank you all for sticking it out. **

**Now as for if I'm coming back to writing SasuNaru stuff…I'm really not sure yet. I know I have all those ideas that I wanted to do, and I have all summer, so we'll have to see. But I still love the couple so maybe I will keep with it.**

**OH OH OH OH OH! One more thing! I actually started a orginal book of my own called 'When it Rains' on FictionPress (dot) net, and I'd really like to see what you all think of it. It's under NavyBlueWings still, so please go read the first chapter and tell me if you think it's good enough to keep going with =D Thanks everyone, love you all!**


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